Autodesk 00308-011408-9F30A - VLA AUTOSKETCH R8-MEDIA W9X/NT, User Manual, Page: 171 / 400

Drawing Tangent Circles
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Drawing Tangent Circles
In some cases, you must draw a circle that is tangent to existing entities but
whose centerpoint is unknown. AutoSketch can calculate the centerpoint
and, in some cases, the radius, of such a circle for you. You need only specify
two or three entities to which the circle is tangent. When you specify two
entities, you must also provide the radius of the circle. When you specify
three entities, AutoSketch calculates the radius for you.
To define a tangent circle, you can use any combination of:
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Lines
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Circular arcs
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Circles
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Poly segments
When used for this purpose, lines and poly segments are treated as lines of
infinite length. Arcs and bulged poly segments are treated as circles. Because
of this, a tangent circle may not actually touch any of the entities used to
define it.
Often, AutoSketch is able to draw several circles that are tangent to the enti-
ties you specify. In this case, it chooses one circle based on where you click
the entity and, in the case of arcs, circles, and bulged poly segments, whether
you click inside or outside. Clicking inside an arc, circle, or bulged poly
segment creates an inside tangent. Clicking outside the same entities creates
an outside tangent.