Page 220 - Mastering SolidWorks

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WorkinG With Sketch entitieS 191

Copy Entities Tool The Copy Entities tool works exactly like the Move Entities tool, except
that it copies instead of moving. The Copy Entities tool enables you to copy selected sketch
entities by either selecting From and To points or by entering XY coordinates to place the copy.
SolidWorks copies the entities and tries to maintain the sketch relations and merged points.
Scale Entities Tool Scale Entities is one of those functions probably best left alone. This is
because the results are erratic and unpredictable, particularly if there are dimensions on the
sketch. This tool works on a selection of entities, particularly on an isolated selection that is
not connected to other entities in the sketch. The PropertyManager for the Scale Entities tool is
shown in Figure 6.10.

Figure 6.10
The Scale
PropertyManager

Modifying a Sketch
The Modify Sketch tool has been available in SolidWorks for a long time, but it has been super-
seded by some of the newer tools, such as Move Entities. However, it still has some unique
functionality that is not covered by any other sketch tool. Modify Sketch works on the entire
sketch rather than on selections within the sketch. It works best if there are no external relations
between sketch entities and anything outside the sketch. It can also work on a sketch without the
sketch being active. While most feature and tool interfaces have been moved to the
PropertyManager, Modify Sketch still uses a dialog box (shown in Figure 6.11) that floats in the
graphics window.

Figure 6.11
The Modify Sketch
dialog box