.. index::
   single: Command Line

Command Line
============

The command line strip at the bottom of the window serves two purposes:

1. **Output** — IQcad writes operation prompts, results, and messages here.
2. **Input** — type a command alias and press **Enter** to activate a tool or
   run an operation.

While a tool is active, the command line shows the current prompt (e.g.
*"Specify start point:"*).  Type coordinates as ``X,Y`` and press **Enter**
to supply a precise point.

.. index::
   single: Command Suggestions
   single: Autocomplete

Command Suggestions
--------------------

As soon as you start typing at an idle ``Command:`` prompt, a suggestion
popup opens below the input box (AutoCAD-style), listing matching
commands as **name (aliases) — description**.  Matches are ordered exact
name/alias hits first, then name/alias prefixes, then plain substring
matches, each group alphabetical and case-insensitive; up to 8 rows show
at once with the rest reachable by scrolling.

- **Up / Down** — move the highlight between suggestions.
- **Enter** — run the highlighted command, or submit the typed text as-is
  if nothing is highlighted.
- **Tab** — fill the input with the highlighted (or first) suggestion
  without running it, so you can keep editing or add options.
- **Esc** — dismiss the popup first; press again to clear the input.
- **Click** a row to run that command immediately.

The popup only appears while the command line is idle — it stays out of
the way during an active tool's sub-prompts (e.g. ``PEDIT``'s option
letters).  It has no on/off setting; it is always available.

.. index::
   single: Command Reference

Command Reference
-----------------

.. index::
   single: Drawing Commands

Drawing Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. index::
   single: LINE (command)
   single: POLYLINE (command)
   single: MULTILINE (command)
   single: ARC (command)
   single: CIRCLE (command)
   single: ELLIPSE (command)
   single: SPLINE (command)
   single: RECTANGLE (command)
   single: HATCH (command)
   single: TEXT (command)
   single: MLEADER (command)
   single: POINT (command)
   single: XLINE (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``LINE``
     - ``L``
     - Start the Line tool.
   * - ``POLYLINE``
     - ``PL``, ``PLINE``
     - Start the Polyline tool.
   * - ``MULTILINE``
     - ``ML``
     - Start the Multiline tool.
   * - ``ARC``
     - ``A``
     - Start the Arc tool.
   * - ``CIRCLE``
     - ``C``
     - Start the Circle tool.
   * - ``ELLIPSE``
     - ``EL``
     - Start the Ellipse tool.
   * - ``SPLINE``
     - ``SP``
     - Start the Spline tool.
   * - ``RECTANGLE``
     - ``REC``
     - Start the Rectangle tool.
   * - ``HATCH``
     - ``H``
     - Start the Hatch tool.
   * - ``TEXT``
     - ``T``
     - Start the Text tool.
   * - ``MLEADER``
     - ``MLD``
     - Prompt for label text, then start the Multileader tool.
   * - ``POINT``
     - ``P``, ``PT``
     - Start the Point tool.
   * - ``XLINE``
     - ``XL``
     - Start the XLine (infinite construction line) tool.

.. index::
   single: Modify Commands

Modify Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. index::
   single: ERASE (command)
   single: MOVE (command)
   single: COPY (command)
   single: ROTATE (command)
   single: SCALE (command)
   single: OFFSET (command)
   single: MIRROR (command)
   single: TRIM (command)
   single: EXTEND (command)
   single: CHAMFER (command)
   single: FILLET (command)
   single: BREAK (command)
   single: JOIN (command)
   single: ALIGN (command)
   single: DIVIDE (command)
   single: MEASURE (command)
   single: ARRAY (command)
   single: PEDIT (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``ERASE``
     - ``E``
     - Erase selected objects.  If nothing selected, prompts "Select objects:"
       — pick then right-click to confirm.
   * - ``MOVE``
     - ``M``
     - Move selected objects.
   * - ``COPY``
     - ``CO``
     - Copy selected objects.
   * - ``ROTATE``
     - ``RO``
     - Rotate selected objects.
   * - ``SCALE``
     - ``SC``
     - Scale selected objects.
   * - ``OFFSET``
     - ``O``
     - Offset an entity by distance or through point. Supports Line, Circle,
       Arc, XLine, Polyline, Ellipse, Spline, Rectangle. Options: ``T`` =
       through, ``E`` = erase source, ``U`` = undo. Phantom preview shown.
   * - ``MIRROR``
     - ``MI``
     - Mirror selected objects.
   * - ``TRIM``
     - ``TR``
     - Two-phase: select cutting edges (or ``ALL``), then click objects to trim.
   * - ``EXTEND``
     - ``EX``
     - Two-phase: select boundary edges, then click the end of a line to extend.
   * - ``CHAMFER``
     - ``CHA``
     - Pick two lines to chamfer. ``D`` sub-option sets distances
       (``$CHAMFERA`` / ``$CHAMFERB``).
   * - ``FILLET``
     - ``F``
     - Pick two lines to fillet. ``R`` sub-option sets radius
       (``$FILLETRAD``).
   * - ``BREAK``
     - ``BR``
     - Break an entity between two points. ``F`` = re-pick first point,
       ``@`` = break at a single point with no gap.
   * - ``JOIN``
     - ``J``
     - Join lines, arcs and polylines that touch into a single entity.
   * - ``ALIGN``
     - ``AL``
     - Align objects using 1–2 source/destination point pairs, with optional
       scaling.
   * - ``DIVIDE``
     - ``DIV``
     - Place point entities dividing an entity into N equal segments.
   * - ``MEASURE``
     - ``ME``
     - Place point entities along an entity at a fixed interval.
   * - ``ARRAY``
     - ``ARR``
     - Rectangular, polar or path array of selected objects.
   * - ``PEDIT``
     - ``PE``
     - Edit a polyline. Sub-options: Close/Open, Join, Width, Edit vertex
       (Next/Prev/Move/Insert/Delete/Straighten), Spline, Decurve, Reverse.
       Converts Lines, Arcs and Circles to polylines (a circle becomes a
       closed three-vertex polyline, start point repeated as the end point,
       with bulge 1 on both halves).

.. index::
   single: Super Tools Commands

Super Tools Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See :doc:`../super_tools/index` for full descriptions.

.. index::
   single: FLATTEN (command)
   single: PLSIMPLIFY (command)
   single: PLGETZ (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``FLATTEN``
     - —
     - Set Z = 0 on selected objects (or the whole drawing).
   * - ``PLSIMPLIFY``
     - ``PLSIM``
     - Simplify polyline vertices (Douglas–Peucker); prompts for tolerance.
   * - ``PLGETZ``
     - ``PGZ``
     - Get Z from surface/PC on polylines and lines (multi-select).
   * - ``BESTFITLINE``
     - ``BFL``
     - Best-fit 3D line through selected points/vertices.

.. index::
   single: View Commands

View Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. index::
   single: ZOOM (command)
   single: PAN (command)
   single: REGEN (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``ZOOM``
     - ``Z``
     - Sub-options: ``E`` = extents, ``W`` = window, ``+`` / ``-`` = in/out.
   * - ``PAN``
     - —
     - Activate real-time pan (middle-mouse drag).
   * - ``REGEN``
     - —
     - Force a full redraw of the canvas.

.. index::
   single: Settings Commands

Settings Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. index::
   single: UNITS (command)
   single: SETVAR (command)
   single: LAYERS (command)
   single: MAKELAYER (command)
   single: CURRENTLAYER (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``UNITS``
     - —
     - Opens a multi-step wizard to set linear units, precision, and angular
       units.
   * - ``SETVAR LTSCALE``
     - ``SV``
     - Set the global linetype scale factor (``$LTSCALE``).
   * - ``LAYERS``
     - ``LA``
     - Opens the Layer Manager dialog.
   * - ``MAKELAYER``
     - —
     - Create a layer from the command line.  Usage:
       ``MAKELAYER name [color]``.  Colour is either an AutoCAD Color
       Index (1–255) or a named shortcut (``RED`` / ``YELLOW`` /
       ``GREEN`` / ``CYAN`` / ``BLUE`` / ``MAGENTA`` / ``WHITE``).
       Defaults to white when omitted.  Use this for scripted layer
       setup; the GUI ``LAYERS`` dialog covers the rest of the
       management workflow.
   * - ``CURRENTLAYER``
     - ``CLAYER``
     - Set the active drawing layer.  Usage:
       ``CURRENTLAYER name``.  Frozen layers are refused.

.. index::
   single: Inquiry Commands

Inquiry Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. index::
   single: LIST (command)
   single: ID (command)
   single: DIST (command)
   single: AREA (command)
   single: ANGLE (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``LIST``
     - ``LI``
     - List selected object properties.
   * - ``ID``
     - —
     - Click a point — report its world X, Y, Z.
   * - ``DIST``
     - ``DI``
     - Measure distance between two points.
   * - ``AREA``
     - ``AA``
     - Measure area (pick points or select object).
   * - ``ANGLE``
     - ``AN``
     - Measure angle (vertex + two points).

.. index::
   single: Surface Commands

Surface Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. index::
   single: CREATESURFACE (command)
   single: ADDSURFACEPOINTS (command)
   single: ADDSURFACEENTITIES (command)
   single: REBUILDSURFACE (command)
   single: ADDSURFACEBOUNDARY (command)
   single: DELETESURFACE (command)
   single: DECIMATESURFACE (command)
   single: SURFACEPROPERTIES (command)
   single: SPOTELEV (command)
   single: ADDCONTOURLABEL (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``CREATESURFACE``
     - ``CS``
     - Create a TIN surface. If survey points exist they are triangulated
       automatically; otherwise an empty surface is created for later population.
   * - ``ADDSURFACEPOINTS``
     - ``ASP``
     - Add all survey points in the drawing to a named surface and build/rebuild
       the TIN.
   * - ``ADDSURFACEENTITIES``
     - ``ASE``
     - Add selected drawing objects (3DFace, Line, Polyline, Point) to a surface.
   * - ``REBUILDSURFACE``
     - ``RS``
     - Rebuild an existing surface TIN from current survey points.
   * - ``ADDSURFACEBOUNDARY``
     - ``ASB``
     - Add a boundary to a surface (select a closed polyline).
   * - ``DELETESURFACE``
     - —
     - Delete a surface by name.
   * - ``DECIMATESURFACE``
     - ``DS``
     - Decimate (simplify) a TIN surface.
   * - ``SURFACEPROPERTIES``
     - —
     - Display surface statistics.
   * - ``SPOTELEV``
     - ``SE``
     - Place a spot elevation label on a surface.
   * - ``ADDCONTOURLABEL``
     - ``ACL``
     - Place contour labels along surface contour lines.

.. index::
   single: Alignment Commands

Alignment Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. index::
   single: ALIGNMENT (command)
   single: ALIGNREVERSE (command)
   single: ALIGNPROPS (command)
   single: ALIGNFROMPOLYLINE (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``ALIGNMENT``
     - ``ALG``
     - Create a horizontal alignment by picking PI points.
   * - ``ALIGNREVERSE``
     - —
     - Reverse the direction of an alignment.
   * - ``ALIGNPROPS``
     - —
     - Display alignment properties in the command line.
   * - ``ALIGNFROMPOLYLINE``
     - ``AFP``
     - Create an alignment from a polyline.

.. index::
   single: Profile Commands

Profile Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. index::
   single: QUICKPROFILE (command)
   single: CREATEPROFILEVIEW (command)
   single: DESIGNPROFILE (command)
   single: PROFILEPROPS (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``QUICKPROFILE``
     - ``QP``
     - Quick profile along a line or polyline.
   * - ``CREATEPROFILEVIEW``
     - ``CPV``
     - Create profile view from alignment + surface.
   * - ``DESIGNPROFILE``
     - ``DP``
     - Create design profile (vertical alignment) in profile view.
   * - ``PROFILEPROPS``
     - —
     - Display profile view properties.

.. index::
   single: Cross-Section Commands

Cross-Section Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. index::
   single: CREATESECTIONSHEET (command)
   single: CREATESECTIONSHEETDLG (command)
   single: EARTHWORKVOLUMES (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``CREATESECTIONSHEET``
     - ``CSS``
     - Create a cross-section sheet from alignment + surfaces (command-line
       wizard; retained for scripting and power users).
   * - ``CREATESECTIONSHEETDLG``
     - ``CSSD``
     - Open the **Create Section Sheet** dialog — a two-tab modal GUI that
       gathers all parameters at once: alignment, one or more surfaces each
       with a per-surface line color, station interval, left/right width,
       optional station range (From / To), columns and rows per sheet,
       optional cut/fill base + comparison surfaces with cut/fill colors, and
       advanced display settings (vertical exaggeration, grid major/minor
       intervals and colors, auto-fit elevation band, area labels, title).
       After clicking OK the user picks an insertion point on the canvas and
       the sheet(s) are created.  Per-surface colors, cut/fill colors, grid
       settings, title, and station range are saved in the ``.iqz`` file and
       survive alignment edits and resample.  The ``CSS`` command-line wizard
       is retained unchanged.  This command is also reached via the
       **Civil → Section Sheet** ribbon button.
   * - ``EARTHWORKVOLUMES``
     - ``EWV``
     - Compute earthwork volume table (average end area method).

.. index::
   single: Coordinate Transformation Commands

Coordinate Transformation Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. index::
   single: CSTRANSFORM (command)
   single: RUBBERSHEET (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``CSTRANSFORM``
     - ``CST``
     - Global coordinate transformation (Helmert, Affine, Polynomial).
   * - ``RUBBERSHEET``
     - ``RBS``
     - Non-uniform rubber-sheet transformation (Linear or Smooth TPS).

.. index::
   single: Layout Commands

Layout Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. index::
   single: LAYOUT (command)
   single: MVIEW (command)
   single: PAGESETUP (command)
   single: PLOTPDF (command)
   single: PLOT (command)
   single: PLOTALL (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``LAYOUT``
     - ``LO``
     - Sub-options: ``N`` = new, ``D`` = delete, ``L`` = list, ``S`` = set active.
   * - ``MVIEW``
     - ``MV``
     - Create a viewport in paper space (must be on a Layout tab).
   * - ``PAGESETUP``
     - —
     - Open page setup dialog for the active layout.
   * - ``PLOTPDF``
     - ``PDF``
     - Export the active layout to PDF (``EXPORTPDF`` is the older equivalent).
   * - ``PLOT``
     - ``PRINT``
     - Open the Print dialog (Ctrl+P).
   * - ``PLOTALL``
     - —
     - Export all layouts to a multi-page PDF.

.. index::
   single: Scripting Commands

Scripting Commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. index::
   single: SCRIPT (command)

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 15 65

   * - Command
     - Alias
     - Action
   * - ``SCRIPT``
     - ``SCR``
     - Run a ``.scr`` text file of commands.  ``SCRIPT`` with no
       arguments opens a file picker; ``SCRIPT <path>`` runs the file
       directly.  See :doc:`/parts/sdk/01_scripting` for the file format, examples
       for each entity type, and limitations.

.. _entering-coordinates:

.. index::
   single: Entering Coordinates

Entering Coordinates
--------------------

When a tool is active and waiting for a point you can type a coordinate at
the command line instead of clicking on the canvas.  The same five forms
work for every drawing tool — ``LINE``, ``CIRCLE``, ``ARC``, ``POLYLINE``,
``RECTANGLE``, ``ELLIPSE``, ``POINT``, ``SPLINE``, ``HATCH``, and the rest:

- **Absolute 2D:** ``X,Y`` — e.g. ``100,50``.  Z inherits from the
  previously-entered point (or 0 if this is the first input).
- **Absolute 3D:** ``X,Y,Z`` — e.g. ``100,50,12.5``.
- **Relative:** ``@dX,dY[,dZ]`` — e.g. ``@10,0`` (10 units to the right
  of the last point).
- **Polar relative:** ``@distance<angle`` — e.g. ``@25<45`` (25 units at
  45° from the last point, angle in degrees).
- **Survey point:** ``#N`` — e.g. ``#42``, looks up survey point number
  42 in the active drawing's survey database and uses its
  (Easting, Northing, Elevation).

Press **Enter** or **Space** to confirm.  Press **Escape** to cancel the
current prompt.

The "last point" used by ``@``-relative and ``@dist<angle`` forms is
whichever world point you most recently entered into the active tool —
whether by clicking on the canvas or by typing a previous coordinate.
That lets you mix mouse picks with typed input freely inside a single
drawing operation.

.. note::

   IQcad's drawing tools require two world points for "circle by centre +
   radius point" — there is no AutoCAD-style shortcut where a bare scalar
   (e.g. ``10``) is interpreted as a radius.  To draw a circle of radius
   10 centred at the origin, follow ``CIRCLE`` with ``0,0`` and then
   ``10,0`` (a rim point at distance 10), or ``@10,0`` after the centre.

.. index::
   single: Running Scripts

Running Scripts
---------------

The ``SCRIPT`` command (alias ``SCR``) plays a text file of commands.
This is useful for repetitive setup work — applying view defaults, running
a sequence of operations, or replaying a recorded series of inputs.

Invoke it in one of two ways:

- ``SCRIPT`` — opens a file picker filtered to ``*.scr`` / ``*.txt``.
- ``SCRIPT <path>`` — loads the named file directly.  Relative paths are
  resolved against the working directory.  Quote the path if it contains
  spaces, e.g. ``SCRIPT "C:\Project Setup\boilerplate.scr"``.

You can also reach the same workflow from **Tools → Run Script…**.

.. index::
   single: File format

File format
~~~~~~~~~~~

Plain UTF-8 text:

- Lines starting with ``;`` are comments (leading whitespace allowed).
- **Spaces inside a line act like Enter** — the line is split into
  whitespace-separated tokens and each token is fed to the dispatcher in
  turn.  Matches AutoCAD's script convention.
- **A blank line acts like a right-click** — it finishes the active
  drawing tool (POLYLINE / LINE chain / SPLINE / etc.).  At the empty
  ``Command:`` prompt with no tool running, a blank line is a no-op.
- A double-quoted string (``"…"``) is one token even if it contains
  spaces — useful for file paths.  The surrounding quotes are stripped.
- Anything else is fed to the dispatcher exactly as if you had typed it
  at the prompt.

Example script (``samples\scripts\draw_demo.scr``):

.. code-block:: text

   ; Three lines in three commands, two of them on one line each
   LINE 0,0 10,0
   LINE 0,5 10,5
   LINE 0,10 @10,0

   ; Circle of radius 5 centred at (20,0)
   CIRCLE 20,0 25,0

   ; Same circle using polar
   CIRCLE 30,0 @5<0

   ; Polyline closed by the blank line below
   PLINE 0,20 5,25 10,20 15,25 20,20

   ZE

While a script is running, each executed line is echoed back to the
command line as ``[script] <line>`` in grey so you can follow what's
happening.  A successful run ends with ``Script complete.`` in green.

.. index::
   single: Stopping a script

Stopping a script
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- **Esc** cancels both the currently-running CAD command and the script
  itself — the player exits and the command line returns to the normal
  prompt.
- The script stops automatically on the first dispatch failure (unknown
  command name) or unhandled exception, reporting the line number so you
  can find the bad line: ``Script stopped at line 9 (dispatch failed).``

Limitations
~~~~~~~~~~~

- **Bare scalar radius / distance** — AutoCAD's ``CIRCLE`` /
  ``0,0`` / ``10`` (single number for radius) is not supported.
  IQcad's CIRCLE wants two world points, so use ``CIRCLE 0,0 10,0``
  (rim point at distance 10) instead.
- **Modal dialogs** opened by a scripted command (e.g. ``LAYERS``,
  ``MAPSETTINGS``) block until you close them manually — the script
  pauses, then continues with the next line.
- **Layer creation** — use ``MAKELAYER name [color]`` to create a layer
  and ``CURRENTLAYER name`` to make it active; the ``LAYERS`` dialog
  itself is modal and blocks playback until closed manually.

Three sample scripts ship under ``samples\scripts\``:

- ``hello.scr`` — single-shot view commands, smoke test for the SCRIPT
  command itself.
- ``setup_view.scr`` — reset the view to north-up zoomed extents.
- ``draw_demo.scr`` — exercises typed coordinates with LINE and CIRCLE.