How-to guide · how to make a rectangular array in autocad

How to make a rectangular array of blocks in AutoCAD

DWGDXFFree1,230 words

By Sumana Kumar · Published 14 Feb 2024 · Updated 17 Feb 2025

Car parks, seating grids, structural column layouts, paving setting-out, solar panel arrays — any time geometry repeats in neat rows and columns, the rectangular array is the tool. ARRAYRECT takes one block and multiplies it into a grid you define by row count, column count and spacing, and because the array stays associative you can change those numbers any time and watch the grid rebuild.

This guide walks through a rectangular array from a single block to a finished grid, then covers the parts people fight with: getting the spacing direction right, building non-orthogonal grids, and editing the array after it exists. The same steps apply whether you are tiling a floor, laying out parking bays, or repeating a workstation across an office floor.

Mastering ARRAYRECT pays back fast because so many real layouts are fundamentally grids. Once the row/column/spacing model clicks, you stop placing repeated objects by hand entirely.

What a rectangular array actually does

A rectangular array copies a source object into a grid defined by three things: the number of rows, the number of columns, and the spacing between them. By default the grid runs along the drawing's X and Y axes — columns march along X, rows along Y — though you can rotate the whole grid or set a custom axis.

The source object can be anything, but blocks are the ideal candidate because every cell of the grid then points back to one definition. Edit that block later and every instance in the array updates. Insert and scale your block first, set it on the right layer, then array it — the grid inherits whatever the source block carries.

Step 1 — Run ARRAYRECT and select the block

Type ARRAYRECT and press Enter, or pick Rectangular Array from the Modify panel's Array flyout. At 'Select objects', click the block you want to repeat and press Enter.

AutoCAD immediately shows a default 3-by-4 grid preview and opens the Array contextual ribbon. As with the other array types, the default is a starting point, not an answer — you set the real counts and spacing in the ribbon or via the command-line options that mirror it. The block you picked sits at the grid's base corner, and the array grows from there.

Step 2 — Set columns, rows and spacing

On the Array ribbon, the Columns panel takes a column 'Count' and a 'Between' distance (the centre-to-centre spacing along X). The Rows panel takes a row 'Count' and its own 'Between' distance along Y. So a 1800 mm parking bay repeated ten times across needs Columns count 10, Between 1800; if the bays also stack in two ranks, set Rows count 2 with a Between equal to the bay depth plus the aisle.

There is also a 'Total' field in each panel — handy when you know the overall length the grid must fill rather than the per-cell gap. Set Total and Count and AutoCAD back-calculates the spacing for you, which is perfect for fitting an exact number of items into a known span.

Step 3 — Control direction with positive and negative spacing

Spacing values carry a sign. A positive column spacing grows the grid to the right (positive X); a negative value grows it left. The same goes for rows and the Y axis. So if your grid is building away from where you want it, you do not move it — you flip the sign of the spacing, or drag the blue arrow grip on the array to spin the direction.

This trips up beginners constantly: they place a block at the top-right corner of a room, array it, and the grid marches off the page. The fix is a negative spacing so the grid fills back into the room. Watch the live preview and adjust the sign until the grid grows the way you intend.

Step 4 — Rotate or skew the grid if needed

Not every grid is orthogonal. To rotate the whole array, set the 'Axis' angle: in older releases you snap the array's base axis to an angle, while in current AutoCAD you can simply rotate the finished associative array with the ROTATE command and it stays a live grid. For a parking layout angled across a plot, this lets the bays follow the geometry rather than the world axes.

For a genuinely skewed grid — rows and columns not at 90 degrees — you generally build an orthogonal array, then use the grips or a custom UCS to align it. Set a UCS along the skewed edge first (UCS, then pick the direction), build the array in that UCS, and the grid lands true to the angled geometry.

Editing the array live

Because the array is associative, click any cell and the Array ribbon returns. Change the row or column count, retype a spacing, or adjust the totals and the whole grid rebuilds instantly. The grips are quicker still: square grips at the base corner move the whole array, the arrow grips on the edges add or remove rows and columns by dragging, and the triangular grips change spacing.

If you need to delete a single item from the grid — a parking bay clipped by a column, say — hold Ctrl and click that item, then delete it. AutoCAD keeps the array associative but remembers the override. To break the grid into ordinary, independently-editable block references, run EXPLODE; you lose the live editing but gain free control over every cell.

Common rectangular-array mistakes

The classic error is spacing in the wrong units — entering 18 instead of 1800 in a millimetre drawing gives a grid 18 mm across. Always think in your drawing's units. The second is confusing 'Between' (centre-to-centre gap) with 'Total' (overall span); pick the right field for the dimension you actually know.

A third pitfall is arraying a block that sits on layer 0 with the wrong colour, so the whole grid inherits it — set the source block's layer before arraying. Finally, remember that an associative array is a single object: if a colleague needs to edit individual cells, or you are exporting to a program that doesn't understand AutoCAD associative arrays, EXPLODE it first so each cell becomes a standalone block reference.

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Questions

Frequently asked

What is the rectangular array command in AutoCAD?+

ARRAYRECT. It copies a selected object into a grid of rows and columns. You set the column count and spacing, the row count and spacing, and AutoCAD builds an associative grid you can edit live afterwards.

Why is my array growing the wrong way?+

Spacing values carry a sign. Positive spacing grows the grid in the positive X or Y direction; negative grows it the other way. Flip the sign of the column or row spacing, or drag the array's direction-arrow grip, to make the grid fill the way you want.

How do I fit an exact number of blocks into a fixed length?+

Use the 'Total' field in the Columns or Rows panel instead of 'Between'. Set the item count and the total span, and AutoCAD calculates the spacing so the grid fits the length exactly.

How do I edit one cell of a rectangular array?+

Hold Ctrl and click the single item to select it within the associative array, then move or delete it as an override. To edit every cell freely, EXPLODE the array into individual block references first.

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