Marking > Object Division (Construct Menu)

This command divides the outline of an object according to a specified mathematical principle. A marking is inserted at the end of each division.

Any part object in an existing object can be identified as the reference object. This can be a side of a rectangle, the arc of an ellipse segment or a circle segment within a surface.

The identified (part) object is referred to as the "Reference Object".

The position at which the reference object is identified (the "ID Point") affects the rest of the command in case of an open object such as a polyline or arc. It determines at which end of the object the division shall start.

The outline of the object is divided up during division. In general, this is referred to as the "Distance"

Which point is interpreted as the start point depends on the reference object type. The rotation direction of the division is determined by the current arc direction. This is specified using the command Toggle Arc Direction (F2), with the F2 key or the button in the panel. If the arc direction is positive, the circle arc is divided beginning from the start angle in a mathematically positive sense (i.e. counterclockwise). If the arc direction is negative, the circle arc is divided beginning from the start angle in a mathematically negative sense (i.e. clockwise).

Ellipses and ellipse arcs are treated in a special way. As ellipses and ellipse arcs are mostly used in technical drawing to show circles in isometric or dimetric view, they are treated correspondingly. They are treated like circles during the division process.

After identifying the reference object, the "Division" dialog appears, in which the division parameters can be specified. After entering the division parameters markings are placed on all the division points calculated.

The generated markings are, like any other object, assigned to a layer which can be locked and/or hidden. All the markings make up one object, i.e. they can only be edited or deleted together. Markings are not automatically assigned to the current layer. Instead, the command Layers > Defaults is used to decide whether they should be assigned to the current layer, or another specified layer.

Markings are normally only displayed on the screen. They are ignored by output to a printer or plotter, to the Clipboard, a metafile or bitmap graphic. If markings are to be included in output, the relevant check box must be enabled in the Drawing Settings > Output check box. The appearance of markings when output can be specified here.