Parallel to Element

Task area 2D Objects + 3D Objects

You can use this tool to design lines parallel to 2D or 3D elements.

To draw a line parallel to an element (e.g., line, circle or curve)

1. Click Parallel to Element (How).
   

   Activate Parallel to Element in one of the following ways

   • Actionbar:Role Draft Task Design Task area 2D Objects

   • Menu bar: Create Draft

   • Palette: Tools Create area in the following module(s):

   Draft

2. Click the line, circle or curve to which you want to draw parallel lines.

   Note: To create a line parallel to a (part of an) ellipse, you can specify the mode for creating lines parallel to ellipses in the Input Options:
   Ellipticity, Radius or Spline.

3. To draw a parallel line through the tangency points of a circle or an ellipse, click Tangent in the input options, then click the circle or ellipse and select the required parallel line.

   Note: Allplan displays a preview of parallel 3D elements in construction line color until you confirm the number of parallel elements by pressing the ENTER key.

4. Enter the offset in one of the following ways:
   • Click in the workspace.
   • Enter the offset, side and number of parallel lines.
     Note: You can enter a positive or negative offset.
     Note: When you enter the offset to the new parallel line(s) as a numeric value, this offset is always applied to the last parallel line drawn, even when you enter several parallel lines in one go.

Examples

Note: In the case of freehand lines and splines, the geometry may make it impossible to draw parallel lines beyond a certain distance. In the case of splines, parallel lines can only be approximated as it is mathematically impossible to create exact parallels. To optimize the result, Allplan adds control points to the spline.