Mimic Object (Formerly Known as Match Properties) – Site & Hardscape

F/X Site ribbon, Mimic Object flyout

F/X Planting ribbon, Mimic Plant flyout

F/X Site menu, Mimic Object option

Click the site block or hatch whose properties you want to apply to one or more existing objects in your drawing.

In this example, we'll select one of the tables pictured to the right.

Click any object in your drawing you want to replace with the source object.

In our example, we'll select one of the tables on the right side the image, which are a different model from the table we've selected as a source object.

If the destination object appears more than once in the drawing, you'll be asked whether you want to apply the change to all instances. In our example, we'll click No to only apply the change to the one table we selected.

The destination object will transform into the source object.

In our example, the table we selected as a destination object will become the source object table.

The destination object will take on all properties of the source object – including symbol, notes, and per-unit cost.

You can also select multiple destination objects at once.

To do so, draw a window around all the objects you'd like to assign with the properties of the source object.

All objects within your window that are identical to the original destination object you selected will be assigned the source object's symbol and data.

In our example, the three tables within the window have been transformed to the first model of table, while the umbrella – which was also within the window – has remained unchanged.

Note that Mimic Object will only process objects within your window that are identical to the first destination object you selected. This feature allows for the careful selection of multiple identical objects while preventing others from being changed inadvertently.

In this example, we'll apply Mimic Object using a RefNote hatch as a source object and a "dumb" site hatch (that is, a hatch without any associated data, which we've placed using our Hatch tool) as a destination object.

Once we apply Mimic Object and select the site hatch as the destination object, we've replaced it with our RefNote hatch – and assigned it with all associated data.

If you've already called out the "destination" RefNote, the callout will also update.

We've added the ability to transform circles in your drawing into blocks, including Amenity RefNotes or other site blocks, using Mimic Object. For example, you may have drawn several circles using the native AutoCAD Circle tool in the locations where you want to place a specific site amenity. Mimic Object makes it easy to switch out the circles for the object of your choice.

In this example, we'll turn the four circles pictured to the right into the chair placed next to them.

Open the Mimic Object tool and select the object you want to put in the place of the circles.

You'll be asked whether you want to apply the properties of the selected object to all circles that share a layer with the circle you selected.

Click Yes to replace all circles on the layer with the selected object, or click No to only apply the change to the circle you selected.

If you click No, you can continue to select additional circles individually as long as the tool is still active.

All circles you selected will be transformed into the object.

In this example, we clicked Yes to apply the properties of the chair to all circles on the layer.

You may need to use the Rotate command to apply your desired rotation to the copied objects. In this example, the duplicates of the copied chair placed upside down, so you would need to rotate them to your desired positions.