How to create and edit AutoCAD Polylines

Use AutoCAD’s Polylines to help organize your lines and arcs into single entities.

Joining lines and arcs together that represent a single object (such as a door frame, or a pane of glass) allow you pick that object with a single pick.

You can draw directly using Polylines, or you can draw your shapes with regular lines and then join them together to make Polylines. Using Polylines will save you clicks and picks for the remainder of the drawing.

Drawing a Polyline is a simple as drawing a regular line, in fact you’re drawing with Polylines every time you draw a rectangle!

Ribbon: Home tab > Draw panel >Polyline

Menu: Draw > Polyline

Toolbar: Draw

Command entry: pline

Polylines must consist of lines and arcs that are on the same layer, and have the same properties such as line type and line weight. If you join a group of lines and arcs together these properties will be taken from the first entity you picked.

Ribbon: Home tab > Modify panel > Edit Polyline
Menu: Modify  Object > Polyline
Toolbar: Modify II

Shortcut menu: Select a polyline to edit, right-click in the drawing area, and choose Polyline Edit.
Command entry: pedit

If the first line or arc you picked is not a Polyline already the following prompt is displayed:

Object selected is not a polyline.

Do you want it to turn into one? <Y>: Enter y or n, or press ENTER

You will want to enter ‘Yes!’… You can get rid of this annoying prompt by setting ‘PEDITACCEPT’ to 1

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You can read a really good article on using Polylines here:

Looking for more like this? Find out how to keep more complex arrangements organized with AutoCAD Groups!