Array Grid

The ArrayGrid command creates a rectangular grid of copies from the selected entities — enter the number of rows, the number of columns, and the spacing between them, all typed at the terminal. The original selection occupies the row-0, column-0 cell; every other cell is a translated copy.

Two ways to start

Pre-select, then array — select entities first, then activate:

Select one or more entities on the canvas.
Type arraygrid in the terminal (as few as arr is enough — it’s unambiguous) or click the Array Grid toolbar button.
Type the number of rows and press Enter.
Type the number of columns and press Enter.
Type the spacing between rows and press Enter.
Type the spacing between columns and press Enter — the grid is created immediately.

Activate, then select — start the command with nothing selected:

Type arraygrid or click the toolbar button.
Select objects — click to toggle individual entities, or drag to select by area.
Press Enter or Space to confirm the selection.
Continue with rows → columns → row spacing → column spacing as above.

  2 rows x 3 columns:

  [B] [B] [B]   <- row 1 (translated copies)
  [A] [A] [A]   <- row 0: original selection, copies to the right

The terminal only needs enough letters to be unambiguous — typing arr and pressing Enter activates Array Grid directly, since no other command name starts with those three letters (Arc, Area, Align, and Angle all diverge earlier).

Rows, columns, and spacing

Prompt	Accepts	Notes
Rows	Positive whole numbers (1, 2, 3…)	Digits only — no decimal point or sign
Columns	Positive whole numbers (1, 2, 3…)	Digits only — no decimal point or sign
Row spacing	Signed decimal (e.g. `10`, `-5.5`)	Distance between rows; negative reverses direction
Column spacing	Signed decimal (e.g. `10`, `-5.5`)	Distance between columns; negative reverses direction

With 1 row and 1 column, no copies are created — the command exits without changing the drawing.

Keyboard reference

Key	Action
`Enter` / `Space`	Confirm selection and advance to the rows prompt
`0`–`9`	Enter digits for rows or columns
`0`–`9`, `.`, `-`	Enter digits for row/column spacing (`-` only as the first character)
`Backspace`	Delete the last typed character of the current prompt
`Enter`	Confirm the current prompt and advance to the next
`Escape`	Clear the typed rows/columns/spacing values and return to the selection phase

Selection during the command

Method	Behaviour
Click	Toggles the entity under the cursor in/out of the selection
Drag right (strict)	Adds entities fully inside the box
Drag left (crossing)	Adds entities that intersect the box boundary
Enter / Space	Confirms the selection and moves to the rows prompt

After the array

The new copies are added to the drawing and the command exits — the original selection is cleared. Run Array Grid again, or start a new command.

Array Grid vs Copy

	Array Grid	Copy
Point-picking	None — rows, columns, and spacing are typed	Base point and destination are clicked (or typed)
Copies created	Rows × columns − 1	Exactly 1 per copy operation
Layout	Regular rectangular grid	Anywhere, at any offset
Best for	Repeating a unit across a regular pattern (holes, tiles, fasteners)	A single duplicate at an arbitrary position

Supported entities

Array Grid works on every entity type. All entities implement translate(dx, dy) internally, the same operation Copy and Move use, so none are excluded.