Develop a new multiline style in AutoCAD

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Now let's discuss the use of multi line styles.

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If you type in ML

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style,

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the multi

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line style dialog box appears from here, you will see the following options

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load which loads an M style from an external MLN

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file

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and save which saves any multi line style to an external

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MLN

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file.

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So now that we've explored the multi line style dialogue box,

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let's go through the process of creating a new multi line style

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in the multi line style dialog box.

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Click on the new button.

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This will open the create new M style dialog box.

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The first thing to do

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is give the new style a name

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for this example.

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We'll be creating a multi line style that represents a

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roadway with a dash line running down the middle.

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Think about how this could assist you in quickly creating what you need.

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If you had to create an exhibit or a layout for a roadway study,

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rather than creating separate autocad entities such as lines or poly lines,

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an M line would be created as one object.

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If this item needs to have the geometry modified,

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you would be editing one item instead of three or more.

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Thus saving you time.

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Now let's get started creating the new multi line style

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in the create new multi line style dialog box.

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We're going to enter roadway for the name

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and then we'll click continue

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in the new multi lion style roadway dialogue box.

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We can enter a description

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such as for

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roadway

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exhibits.

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The angle option allows you to control the angle of the caps

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or caps. You select

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the default angle is 90 but you can enter different angles

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to see how it will affect your multi line style.

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Note that you can get a preview of the additions that you make to your style

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as these will appear in the multi line style dialog box in the preview window.

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The next option is the fill option.

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If you want a solid fill color applied to your style, you can select that color here.

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Also notice

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that by layer is an option.

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I will choose a gray color for this option

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to simulate

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the pavement that we're going to create with this M line style.

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The next option is display joints.

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This option will create a line at each vertex from outside to inside.

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I'll leave this option deselected. For our example,

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in the element section, there are the offset

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color

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and line type values.

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Since I started this style based on the standard style,

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there are only two elements currently.

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For this example,

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I'll modify the offset values and add another line element to the style

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to modify offset values. Select the element you want to modify.

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In this case, select the first element.

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After selecting it,

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you will notice that the offset value directly below the delete button

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is now available. Remember that you are creating a style for a roadway.

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With that in mind.

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A typical roadway width is 12 ft

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for the first offset.

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Enter six

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for the value of color.

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We'll change this to 253.

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These lines will be gray

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and will be the outside lines for the roadway.

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Next, you'll need an element that will be the roadway, center line striping

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to add this element.

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We'll click on the add button

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once added, notice that the offset value is zero.

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This will be the center line of the roadway.

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Since we intend to make this our center line striping,

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we'll have to change the color and line type values

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for the color. We'll go ahead and make this yellow

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and for the line type,

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we'll go ahead and load

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and look for

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dashed.

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Finally,

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we'll take care of the last offset

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with a minus six.

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We'll make the color 253

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and we'll keep the line type.

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Now, we can click the ok button

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and we can see a preview of our new M line style.

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Now, let's finish it off by trying out the style we just created.

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Let's select the roadway style, set it current and then click ok.

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Start the M line command,

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scroll out,

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pick a point

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and there we have it

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a roadway exhibit

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with striping and hatching.

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When we click on the M line, you can see it's one item

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that can be modified

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as needed

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one tip. Before closing this lesson,

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if you click on your M line and notice that the

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vertices are located at the edge of the M line,

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there's an easy fix to take care of this.

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If you want them to run down the center line of the M line,

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simply select the M line,

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right click

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and go to properties

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in the property's pallet,

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simply go to M line justification

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and change it from top

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to zero

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and notice how your vertices or your grips

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are running straight down the center line.