Drift Offset

This command draws two offset polylines that offset as a function of the cumulative distance of the polyline. That is, at the beginning of the original polyline, the offset distance will be zero. At the end of the polyline, the offset distance will be equal to the total length of the original polyline multiplied by an offset factor, as described by the below formula:

Offset = Polyline_Length * sin (angle)

After selecting the polyline and entering the angle, the offsets will be calculated for each vertex along the polyline. It is important to note that the offset polylines are not a simple angle rotation of the original polyline. An example is shown below.

Because the offsets are calculated only at the vertices of the original polylines, sharp angles in the original polyline will produce offset polyines that can actually get closer to the original polyline rather than farther away, as shown below. Note that the offset distances are perpendicular to the original polyline.

It is important to note that although this command can offset either a 2D or a 3D polyline, the resulting offset polylines will only be drawn as 2D polylines.

Pulldown Menu Location: Edit
Keyboard Command: offset_drift