Row of drilled holes

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With a row of drilled holes - for example for buttons or LEDs - it is very easy to demonstrate the creation of a group of identical objects, by first creating a single object with the desired properties on the main plate, and then reproducing it as often as required at certain fixed distances apart.

Reset origin

As in our case the coordinates of the row of drilled holes will be based on the upper left corner of the main plate, we will revert to the simplest method of moving the origin between the corner points of the main plate. To do this, please click on the "set origin" icon:

An icon bar appears to allow you to select between various methods of determining the origin on the main plate. Please select the icon "Enter coordinates based on snap point":

Now move the cursor over the main plate. This is then "snapped" at a total of 9 points on the main plate (recognizable by the appearance of a blue square). Please select the "top left" corner as the new origin for the main plate (click the left mouse button when the desired corner is "snapped").

Tip for the direct selection of a new corner as the origin After selecting the icon "Enter coordinates based on a corner of the front panel", you can also use the keys 1 to 9 from the numeric number pad to move the origin directly. The odd numbers 1, 3, 7 and 9 correspond to the corners of the front panel, the even numbers 2, 4, 6 and 8 represent the midpoints of the sides and number 5 is the center.
Select the object "drilled hole" and determine the positioning method

To create the "mother hole" for the desired row of drilled holes, please select the icon "Insert drilled hole" or click Insert > Drilled hole from the toolbar:

An icon bar appears, you can choose between different methods of positioning the reference point of the drilled hole (= the center of the hole). Please select the icon "Manual coordinate entry".

Guideline to understanding the insertion process For any new object to be inserted you must always run two dialogs consecutively: 1. Determine reference point (you can select one of the available methods with the aid of the icon bar) and 2. Determine properties. 
Position drilled hole

The dialog box "Determine reference point" now appears:

In this dialog box, please set the absolute X and Y coordinates to the following values:

Absolute X coordinate: 15 mm
Absolute Y-coordinate: -30 mm

Now press the button "OK".

Select drilled hole properties

The dialog box "Drilled hole properties" now appears:

Set the diameter to the following value in this dialog box:

Diameter: 5.1 mm

Now press the button "OK".

"Clone" the drilled hole

Please mark the drilled hole you have created by clicking on the hole or drawing a frame around it.

Tip for marking objects You can only mark objects in select mode. This can be activated at any time by clicking the arrow icon or simply by pressing the space bar.

Then click Selection > Move… to open the dialog box "Move selected objects".

Check the box "Apply to copy" and then set the relative DX and DY coordinates to the following values:

Relative DX coordinate: 0 mm
Relative DY coordinate: -9 mm

Now press the button "OK". A second drilled hole now appears on the main plate below the first drilled hole - a deliberately generated "clone" of the "mother hole"!

Generate a row of drilled holes

If you then click Edit > Repeat: Move to repeat the last action (moving the copy of an object), a third hole is generated with the same characteristics and in the same raster.

The desired action can also be performed with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + r .

Please repeat the process until a row of drilled holes consisting of 8 objects has been created.

Tip for duplicating objects Performing an action such as moving the copy of an object ("Apply to copy") and then repeating this action a number of times with <Ctrl> + <r> is the "standard trick" for distributing a large number of objects on a raster.