You could have used the STRETCH command to make the door narrower, but that’s an advanced Modify command and won’t be introduced until Chapter 11,“Working with Hatches, Gradients, and Tool Palettes.” Besides, the arc would have to be modified to a smaller radius. It’s easier to scale the objects, and the slightly thinner door can be attributed to interior doors being thinner than exterior doors. In Chapter 9, “Using Dynamic Blocks and Tables,” I’ll demonstrate
a dynamic block that can serve as a door block for several door sizes.
For this exercise, you will use the SCALE command to resize the bathroom
door to fit the existing opening. The SCALE command changes the size of all the
selected objects by an equal amount based on keyboard input or the location of
the cursor. The objects scale up or down, based on their position relative to a
base point you’ve defined. Objects scaled up will appear to get farther away from
the base point, whereas objects scaled down will appear to get closer.
The 30″ (762 mm) bathroom door opening is 5⁄6 the size of the 36″ (915 mm)
back door opening; therefore, 5⁄6, or its decimal equivalent of 0.8333, can be
used as the scale factor. Because fractions are inherently more accurate than
rounded-off decimal values, we’ll use the fractional scale factor:
1. Continue using I04-16-MirroringObjects.dwg (M04-16-
MirroringObjects.dwg), or open it if it’s not already open.
2. Click the Zoom Window button found on the Navigation bar to zoom
in to the interior door opening (see Figure 4.56).
F igu re 4 . 5 6 : A close-up view of the bathroom door
3. Start the SCALE command by using the Scale button found on the
Home tab ➢ Modify panel, or type SC↵ at the command line.
4. At the Select objects: prompt, select the bathroom door and
swing, and then press ↵.
5. At the Specify base point: prompt, type END↵ and pick the hinge
point.
As you move the cursor, you can see the scaled version of the door
change size depending on how far the cursor is located from the base
point (see Figure 4.57).
F igu re 4 . 5 7 : Using the Scale tool to resize the bathroom door
6. Type 5/6↵ (762/915↵) to scale the 36″ (915 mm) door down to 30″
(762 mm).
The rescaled door should look like Figure 4.58.
F igu re 4 . 5 8 : The rescaled bathroom door
7. Save your drawing as I04-17-ScalingObjects.dwg (M04-17-
ScalingObjects.dwg).
As you can see, as long as you know the scale factor, it’s easy to use the SCALE
command to resize objects in your drawing. The next door to draw is the sliding
glass door. This kind of door requires an entirely different strategy, but you’ll use
commands familiar to you by now.
