Mastering AutoCAD Efficiency: Unleashing the Power of M2P for Swift and Precise Drawings

M2P is the keyboard shortcut to the Object Snap Override (OSO) “Mid Between Two Points”.

Everyone knows about Object Snaps, (or Running Object Snaps (ROS) to give them their full title) on the status bar along the bottom of the drawing windows, amongst the other drafting aids.

Some people may or may not know about Object Snap Overrides. These can be invoked several ways, typically by typing MID, or END, INT, CEN etc, or by holding down the shift key and right clicking the mouse. (just a right click on the screen will make the option available on the “shortcut menu”, but not all the time) You would use OSO when you have several ROS set and it is snapping to the wrong point, or, the snap you want is not currently set in ROS.

Right click:-

Shift held – Right click:-

So an Object Snap Override will override, hence the name, override any currently set Running Object Snaps, FOR ONE CLICK ONLY, returning to the currently set Running Object Snaps afterwards, so you may need to hold shift and right click again to get the list up again for the next click. Take the following scenario, you want to draw a vertical line, in the middle, right between these two buildings.

What would you do at the currently?

I suspect a lot of folk would draw a line across the top and across the bottom between the buildings, then draw a line midpoint to midpoint vertically. The go back and delete the shorter horizontal lines afterwards. Fine, it will give the desired results…. eventually, but then you are invoking an extra command, the erase command to delete the short horizontal lines. Ok, you can just select and delete key, but it is another step nonetheless.

So, how can we use the OSO to help make the job quicker and more efficient?

If you go to the line command, and when it asks “LINE Specify first point:”, if you hold shift down and right click the mouse you will get the list of overrides. (don’t hold the shift key, release as soon as the list pops up)

Simply select “Mid Between 2 Points” and select the upper two points with the endpoint snap, then do another Shift+Rt click and select the lower two points and enter to finish drawing.

Jobs done, quick and easy, nothing to go back and erase afterwards.

Written by Steve Crow – Software Technical Specialists

Check out Steve Crow’s Video below

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