Extend by Distance

This command extends a line or polyline, or creates new lines or polylines off of an existing one. By specifying a distance, a new segment of the line or polyline can be drawn from the current position. The current position and direction along the line or polyline is indicated by an arrowhead. Extend by Distance starts by selecting an existing line or polyline. Initially, the current position will be the closest vertex to where the line or polyline was selected. Extending from the endpoint of a polyline will add a new point to that polyline, while extending from any other point will create a new polyline.

There are two modes of operation: draw mode (D) and move mode (M). When in draw mode, extending will draw line or polyline segments. In move mode, the current position arrowhead can be moved without drawing segments. The orientation of the current position arrowhead can be changed with the Right, Left, and Angle commands.

The second prompt for this command offers numerous options in the form of key letters. These key letters are listed below along with their full names and actions. The list of the Extend by Distance commands are:

# - Number: Distance to draw or extend
A# - Angle change: Rotates pointer by specified number of degrees
A - Align: Rotates pointer to align with segment
B - Bearing: Sets pointer direction by bearing in format: Qdd.mmss with Q- quadrant, d-degrees, m-minutes, s-seconds (e.g. 130.1005 is NE 30 degrees, 10 minutes, and 5 seconds)
C - Close: Closes the polyline
D - Draw Mode: Actions draw or extend the line or polyline
E - Extend to Edge: Extends to intersection with a selected line or polyline
I - Input mode:  Toggles distance input between decimal feet and feet-inches
L - Left rotate: Rotates counterclockwise 90 degrees
M - Move Mode: Actions only move the pointer
N - Next: Moves pointer forward to next point
O - Open: Opens the polyline
P  - Previous: Moves pointer backward to previous point
R - Right rotate: Rotates clockwise 90 degrees
S - Switch: Reverses pointer direction
T# - Total distance: Sets current segment to specified distance
U - Undo: Undo the last Extend by Distance command
Z - Zoom mode: Toggles auto-zoom between on/off
?  - Info: Displays lengths of current polyline

H - Help: The Help option also displays this Extend by Distance Commands list.
Press <Enter>: Ends the routine
The result of using the Info (?) feature

Prompts

Select line or polyline to extend: select line or polyline near the place to extend
Enter or pick distance to draw (A,B,C,E,I,L,M,N,O,P,R,S,T,U,Z,?,Help): 50 The line is extended by 50 units. Use the Pick option to pick a distance.
Pick/Horizontal Distance to Extend ([Enter] for new line): R Rotate right 90 degrees.
Enter or pick distance to draw (A,B,C,E,I,L,M,N,O,P,R,S,T,U,Z,?,Help): 50 The line is extended by 50 units. Use the Pick option to pick a distance.
Enter or pick distance to draw (A,B,C,E,I,L,M,N,O,P,R,S,T,U,Z,?,Help): press Enter
Extend another (<Yes>/No)? No
Note: R50 and L10 can be used to go right 50, left 10, etc.

The result of using the Help (H) option

Pulldown Menu Location: Edit > Extend
Keyboard Command: extender
Prerequisite: An existing line or polyline with at least one segment from which to start.