The Bottom Line

Create and insert a symbol. If you have a symbol that you use often in a drawing, you can draw it once and then turn it into an AutoCAD block. A block can be placed in a drawing multiple times in any location, like a rubber stamp. A block is stored in a drawing as a block definition, which can be called up at any time.

Master It Name the dialog box used to create a block from objects in a drawing, and also name the tool to open this dialog box.

Modify a block. Once you’ve created a block, it isn’t set in stone. One of the features of a block is that you can change the block definition and all the copies of the block are updated to the new definition.

Master It What is the name of the tool used to “unblock” a block?

Understand the annotation scale. In some cases, you’ll want to create a block that is dependent on the drawing scale. You can create a block that adjusts itself to the scale of your drawing through the annotation scale feature. When the annotation scale feature is turned on for a block, the block can be set to appear at the correct size depending on the scale of your drawing.