Defining CAD / CADD

CAD

An acronym for Computer Aided Design

It is synonymously used for Computer Aided Drafting.

CADD, An acronym for Computer Aided Design & Drafting

CAD/CADD refers to the use of software and computer for creating precise engineering drawings
and designs

What is AutoCAD

It is a general-purpose computer-aided drafting application program.

It is the largest selling software for Computer Assisted/Aided /Automated Drafting.

More people use AutoCAD than any other CAD software.

Today, AutoCAD is translated into 18 languages and used by millions of users worldwide.

AutoCAD LT is a "scaled down" version of AutoCAD and It costs less. Compared to the full
edition of AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT lacks several features. Most notably, it has no 3D modeling
capabilities.

Autodesk has also developed a few discipline-specific enhancements of AutoCAD, such as,
AutoCAD Architecture AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD Civil 3D, and AutoCAD
Map 3D are examples of industry-specific CAD applications built on the AutoCAD platform.

AutoCAD-Version history

Official name Version Release Date of

release Official name Version Release Date of

release

Version 1.0 1.0 1 1982, December

Release 13 N/A 13 1994, November

Version 1.2 1.2 2 1983, April

Release 14 N/A 14 1997, February

Version 1.3 1.0 3 1983, August

AutoCAD 2000 15.0 15 1999, March

Version 1.4 1.4 4 1983, October

AutoCAD 2000i 15.1 16 2000, July

Version 2.0 2.0 5 1984, October

AutoCAD 2002 15.6 17 2001, June

Version 2.1 2.1 6 1985, May

AutoCAD 2004 16.0 18 2003, March

Version 2.5 2.5 7 1986, June

AutoCAD 2005 16.1 19 2004, March

Version 2.6 2.6 8 1987, April

AutoCAD 2006 16.2 20 2005, March

Release 9 N/A 9 1987, September

AutoCAD 2007 17.0 21 2006, March

Release 10 N/A 10 1988, October

AutoCAD 2008 17.1 22 2007, March

Release 11 N/A 11 1990, October

AutoCAD 2009 17.2 23 2008, March

Release 12 N/A 12 1992, June

Scope of AutoCAD

It is used to increase speed & accuracy in the production of drawings in any field, such as
Civil Engg

Construction industry

Geographic Information Systems

Surveying

Facilities Management

Mechanical Engg

Electrical Engg.

Electronics Engg.

Biomedical

Chemical Engg

Petroleum Engg

Mining Engg

Industrial Engg

Metallurgy Engg

Mechatronics

Computer Engg

Advantages of AutoCAD over manual/instrumental drafting

Speed

Neatness

Accuracy

Legibility improved.

Improved Presentations.

Flexibility in Editing.

Easy Storage/Transport

Easy retrieval/Access of Drawings

 Sharing CADD Drawings.

Helps in Engineering Analysis.

Helps in Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM).

High rate of drawing production.

Enhanced visualization.

& many more….

AutoCAD Graphical User Interface (GUI) or Main screen

Graphical user interface (GUI) allow computer users to interact with computer by selecting small
images called icons to execute instructions, eliminating the need to use text commands.

The AutoCAD screen consists of following important areas. These are,

The drawing area

The blank area (On your computers it may be in black color) in the middle of the screen where you
draw. You can think of this as a sheet of drafting paper, except that this black piece of paper can be
of any size( Infinite size) — even the size of a huge factory or even the size of a city. At the bottom
of the drawing area is a tab labeled Model. We will draw on this tab. You use the layout tabs to lay
out your drawing for plotting we will learn to draw here later.

The UCS icon

Notice the symbol with two arrows at the bottom-left corner of the drawing area in Figure above. This
symbol is called the User Coordinate System (UCS) icon. The arrows point to the positive directions
of the X and Y axes.

The crosshairs

In the drawing area, notice the two intersecting lines with a small box at their intersection. The small
box is called the pickbox because it helps you to select, or pick, objects. The lines are called
crosshairs. They show you the location of the mouse cursor in relation to other objects in your
drawing. As you move your mouse around, the pickbox and crosshairs move with your mouse. At
the bottom of your screen, at the left end of the status bar, you can see the X,Y coordinates change
as you move your mouse.

The menus and toolbars

Beneath the menu bar there are two rows of toolbars. In addition, your screen has two more
toolbars, the Draw and Modify toolbar, which is probably docked at the right side of the screen. Use
the menus and toolbars together to give AutoCAD commands to draw, edit, get information, and so
on.

On the Draw toolbar, move the mouse cursor over the first button. You should see a tool tip that
says Line. Also notice the status bar, which tells you that this button creates straight-line segments.
You use toolbar buttons to execute commands.

For example, to draw a line, you click the Line button on the Draw toolbar.

The command line

All commands can be executed by typing them on the command line. Even if you use a menu item
or toolbar button to execute a command, you may see a response on the command line. AutoCAD
often provide options that must be typed in from the keyboard. Text that you type appears on the
command line.

The status bar

At the left are the X,Y coordinates. As you move your mouse, these coordinates change. (If they
don’t change, click them and move your mouse again.)

Note: You can use the CLEANSCREENON command to hide the title bar, toolbars, and status bar,
leaving more room for the drawing area. To return to the regular display, use the
CLEANSCREENOFF command or press Ctrl+0 to toggle between the two displays.

Different ways to start AutoCAD?

You can launch AutoCAD with the following methods:

Choose Start-(All)-Programs-Autodesk-AutoCAD 200X-AutoCAD 200X.

Double-click an AutoCAD drawing file.

Double-click the AutoCAD icon on the Windows desktop.

Click the AutoCAD icon on the taskbar’s Start menu.

Click the AutoCAD icon on the Quick Launch toolbar on the taskbar.

 QSAVE or SAVE
Quickly saves the current drawing

 Standard toolbar:
 File menu: Save or save as
 Command line: qsave or save
If the drawing is named, AutoCAD saves the drawing without requesting a file name. If the
drawing is unnamed, AutoCAD displays the Save Drawing As dialog box (see SAVEAS) and
saves the drawing with the file name you specify.
 Closing/Exiting AutoCAD
If you saved your most recent changes to all open drawings, you can exit AutoCAD without saving
the drawings again. If you have not saved your changes, AutoCAD prompts you to save or discard
the changes.

To exit AutoCAD

 Click ( X ) close button at upper right corner

 From the File menu, choose Exit.
OR

 Command line: Type QUIT or EXIT & press ENTER

 Different ways to access/start commands
You can use any of the following methods to start a command. The easiest way to start a command is to
type it in the Command Line window, other methods are

 Menu bar
 Toolbars, Right clicks on any toolbar, displays all toolbars.
 Shortcut menu, right click mouse having cursor at different positions on screen and see
different menus, called as shortcut menus.
 Using Shortcut Menus
You can right-click your pointing device to display shortcut menus from which you can quickly choose
options Shortcut menus are context-sensitive. You can display shortcut menus from most of the
following AutoCAD window/main screen areas

 Erasing objects / ERASE command

 Modify toolbar:
 Modify menu: Erase
 Shortcut menu: Select the objects to erase,
right-click in the drawing area, and click Erase.
 Command entry: erase
Select objects: Use an object selection method
or
 Enter L (Last) to erase the last object drawn. or

Enter all to erase all objects from the drawing.

And press ENTER when you finish selecting objects

The objects are removed from the drawing.

 Canceling a command
Sometimes you might find yourself using a command, and all of a sudden you want to stop using it
and switch to a different one. If you don’t want to complete the current command, press Esc or
right-click and choose Cancel from the shortcut menu.

 Repeating last command

AutoCAD allows you to repeat the previous command without having to select it from a user
interface element again, You can use these methods to repeat a previously used command:

 Press Enter when no command is active.

 Press the space bar when no command is active.
 Press the Up arrow key when no command is active and press Enter. You can
Step back to retrieve previously used commands within the current session and not just
the most recently used command.

 Right-click the drawing window and choose Repeat Command Name.

 Right-click the drawing window and choose Recent Input & .command name.
 Right-click the Command Line window and choose
Recent
 Command: command name
 Undo command or Correcting mistakes
Reverses the effect of commands

 Coordinates systems used in

AutoCAD
Introduction
As a general rule, everything you draw with AutoCAD will be drawn full size/actual size. This often
comes as quite a surprise to those who are new to CAD and have spent a number of years working
on a drawing board.

When you start drawing with AutoCAD you do not have to decide upon a drawing scale as you do
when using a drawing board. When drawing on paper you must decide do draw at say, 1:20 or
1:200 depending upon the size of the object that you are drawing so that your scaled drawing will
fit on the drawing sheet, be that A3 or A1.

In AutoCAD you do not need to decide upon a drawing scale until you come to print the drawing
and because the scaling of your drawing takes place at the printing stage, you can create drawings
at a scale of 1:1. This has particular advantages because you can, for example, measure lengths,
areas and volumes within an AutoCAD drawing and not need to compensate for any scale factor.

 In how many different ways can we enter a point or specify a location

Answer of this question is 3 or even more.

1. Entering absolute/real coordinates.

Absolute Cartesian Coordinate data entry style is X,Y ( All X , Y & Z values are given w.r.t fixed
origin.)

The simplest and most elementary form of coordinate values is absolute coordinates.

Absolute coordinates conform to the following format:

X, Y

One problem with using absolute

coordinates is that all coordinate
values refer back to the origin 0, 0
fixed in the lower left corner.

Now, let’s make our first step into drawing

and learn about coordinate system by going
over these topics.

Try yourself-Tutorial
 Command: LINE
Command: Specify first point: -2,1
Specify next point or [Undo]: 3,4
Specify next point or [Undo]: ENTER

In the example given above, we drew the

line, We gave the point information that is
asked by AutoCAD by entering real/absolute
coordinates in form of x,y. Let’s continue to
convert it into a triangle.

Command: LINE
Command: Specify first point: -2,1
Specify next point or [Undo]: 3,4
Specify next point or [Undo]: 3,1
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: -
2,1
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: ENTER

Absolute coordinate input-Tutorial- 1

First open a new drawing with imperial settings by using start from scratch, and draw it on a graph
paper and try to complete the table first and later draw it on computer,
 Absolute coordinate input-Tutorial- 2

First open a new drawing with imperial settings by using start from scratch, first on a graph paper
and later draw it on computer,

 Absolute coordinate input-Tutorial- 3

2. Entering relative coordinates:
With absolute coordinates, the origin at 0, 0 must be kept in mind at all times in order for the
correct coordinate to be entered. With complicated objects, this is sometimes difficult to
accomplish and as a result, the wrong coordinate is entered, it is possible to reset the last
coordinate to become a new origin or 0, 0 point. The new point would be relative to the previous
point, and for this reason, this point is called a relative coordinate.

The format is as follows:

@X, Y

In this format, we use the same X and Y values with one exception: the @ symbol that resets the
previous point to 0, 0 i.e. origin, and makes entering coordinates less confusing.

Let’s make the previous example by using relative coordinates. Let’s draw the same triangle by
starting from -2,1 point, going 5 units in right direction and 3 units in upper direction and end in
same -2,1 point.

Try yourself-Tutorial

Command: LINE
Command: Specify first point: -2,1
Specify next point or [Undo]: @ 5,0
Specify next point or [Undo]: @3,0
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: C

As you can see, entering relative coordinates is done

by using @ symbol from the last point and entering
Δx,Δy values. @ means that we will enter relative coordinates.

 Relative coordinate input-Tutorial- 1

First open a new file with metric settings,
If AutoCAD is already open, close all files and,
Click File menu and choose New, In the New
Drawing dialogue box select start from scratch and
choose metric & click OK, Now ZOOMOUT once
to see all GRID area.

If you just started AutoCAD than In the Startup

dialogue box select start from scratch and choose
metric & click OK
Relative Coordinate System.
‘@’ character is used for relative coordinate input. Putting it at the beginning of an entry, the place
you are on is considered as the origin and the desired coordinate relative to this origin is entered.
Briefly, ‘@’ character means ‘with respect to.

Start LINE command,

Command: LINE
Specify first point: pick any point on the screen
at lower left corner of GRID area, and follow the
steps below.
Firstly, draw a 100-unit line.
Specify next point or [Undo]: @100,0 ‘Enter’

Then, draw a 100-unit line through Y axis.

Specify next point or [Undo]: @0,100

The 80-unit line is in negative X direction.

Specify next point or [Undo]: @-80,0

The following movement is in both negative directions

of X and Y axes.
Specify next point or [Undo]: @-20,-20

The last line is in negative Y direction.

Specify next point or [Undo]: @0,-80
Specify next point or [Undo]: Press ENTER

 Relative coordinate input-Tutorial- 2

First open a new drawing with imperial settings by using start from scratch, and draw it on a graph
paper and try to complete the table first and later draw it on computer,
 Relative coordinate input-Tutorial- 3

 Relative coordinate input-Tutorial- 4

 Relative coordinate input-Tutorial - 5

First open a new drawing with imperial settings by using start from scratch, and first draw on a graph
paper and later draw it on computer,
 Relative coordinate input-Tutorial-6

First open a new drawing with imperial settings by using start from scratch, and first draw on a
graph paper and later draw it on computer,

 Relative coordinate input-Tutorial- 7

First open a new drawing with imperial settings by using start from scratch, and first draw on a
graph paper and later draw it on computer,

3. Entering Relative Polar Coordinates:

Another popular method of entering coordinates is the polar coordinate mode. The format is shown
below:

@ Distance < angle or

@ Length < direction

As the preceding format implies, the polar coordinate method requires a known distance and an
angle. The @ symbol, resets the previous point to 0, 0. The direction is preceded by the < symbol,
which reads the next number as polar or angular
direction.

We know that angles increase in counter clockwise

direction in AutoCAD. The example given here
explains how to enter polar coordinates.

Try yourself-Tutorial
Command: LINE
LINE Specify first point: -2,1
Specify next point or [Undo]: @5<0
Specify next point or [Undo]: @3<90
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: c

 Polar coordinate input-Tutorial-1

Many AutoCAD users have some troubles with angles. The reason beyond this is the lack of
information about polar coordinate system. Examining the figure below, let us start to learn polar
coordinate system.

First open a new file with metric settings,

If AutoCAD is already open, close all files and,
Click File menu and choose New, In the New Drawing dialogue box select start from scratch and
choose metric & click OK, Now ZOOMOUT once to see all GRID area.

If you just started AutoCAD than In the Startup dialogue box select start from scratch and choose
metric & click OK

Firstly, let us draw a coordinate plane and lines with entering length and angles. The formula for
polar coordinate entry is: @length<angle (between the X axis). The length and angles of our lines let
be 100 unit and 45 degrees respectively.
To draw the first line, run the line
command,
Command: LINE
Specify first point: 0,0 and press
enter
Specify next point or [Undo]:
@100<45

The angle for the second line is 45

degrees less than 180.
Repeat line command and
Command: LINE
Specify first point: 0,0 ENTER
Specify next point or [Undo]:
@100<135 and press enter

The angle for the third line is 45 degrees

less than 270.
Repeat line command,
Command: LINE
Specify first point: 0,0 ENTER
Specify next point or [Undo]: @100<225 and press enter

The angle for our last line is 45 degrees less than 360.
Repeat line command,
Command: LINE
Specify first point: 0,0 ENTER
Specify next point or [Undo]: @100<315 and press enter

 Polar coordinate input-Tutorial- 2

 Polar coordinate input-Tutorial- 3

 Polar coordinate input-Tutorial- 4

Polar & Relative (Combined) coordinate input-Tutorial- 5 First open a new

drawing with imperial settings by using start from scratch, and first draw on a graph paper
and later draw it on computer,

 Polar & Relative (Combined) coordinate input-Tutorial- 6

First open a new drawing with imperial settings by using start from scratch, and first draw on a
graph paper and later draw it on computer,
 LINE Command, close, undo and continue options
With the Line command you can draw a simple line from
one point to another. When you pick the first point and
move the cross-hairs to the location of the second point
you will see a rubber band line which shows you where the
line will be drawn when the second point is picked. Each
line segment drawn is a separate object and can be moved
or erased as required. To end this command, just hit the key on the keyboard.
Undo & Close options in LINE command

The undo option erases the last segment only, where as close option draws the last line segment joining
with the start point and at the same time terminates the line command.
Continue option in LINE command

At any stage you terminated/ended the line command but immediately you decide to continue the
line from last point of the last segment you just drawn, start line command when it asks for the start
point just press enter the line will be started from the end point of the last segment drawn, thus
continuing the line.
 Understanding startup dialog box-Tutorial
Starting AutoCAD

 From the start menu choose all programs, and then choose AutoCAD from the menu.
 If you have shortcut on desktop then directly double click on AutoCAD icon.

Exploring the startup dialog box

When you start AutoCAD, the startup dialog box may or may not be displayed depending upon the
default settings & the version of software, If it is not displayed then follow this,

Turn ON/OFF the display of startup dialog box

 From the Tools menu, choose Options-

Or
 Type Options at command line & press enter
 In the Options dialogue box Choose,
System-General options-Startup-select,
Show or do not show Startup Dialog box
 Choose Apply/OK.

Now close the software/AutoCAD and re-start, it you will see the startup dialogue box displayed
each time you start AutoCAD.

The dialog box provides you with four different ways to start working in AutoCAD, you can,

A. Open an existing drawing.

B. Start a drawing from scratch
C. Start a drawing based on a template.(This will be discussed later)
D. Use wizards to help you setup/start your drawing (This will be discussed later)
To open an existing drawing, click

 In the Startup dialog box, choose “Open a Drawing”, and then choose Browse. OR If AutoCAD is
already started, from the File menu, choose Open. In the Select File dialog box, select a files (If
there is no recently used file than use browse button to locate the file) & chose Open.
 Now select VIEW-ZOOM from menu bar and try zoom IN, OUT, ALL, and EXTENT options and
observe the difference between them also use PAN REALTIME, and ZOOM WINDOW & ZOOM
PREVIOUS from the standard tool bar docked in the top area of GUI/screen.

Note: Repeat this several times changing the file each time and practicing various zoom options as
listed above. Now close AutoCAD and repeat the same again and again, each time opening a
different file. When you have practiced this several times, follow the next step

To create a new drawing using Start from Scratch, click

 In the Startup dialog box, choose “Start from Scratch”. OR If AutoCAD is already started, from
the File menu, choose New, and then choose Start from Scratch in the Create New Drawing
dialog box. Select Imperial/English (For making drawing in inches & feet, or. English units) or
Metric (For making drawing in millimeters, or metric units), and then choose OK.
 A new drawing file opens, based on the English/Imperial or metric settings and with the default
name drawing1.dwg (Note: By default all AutoCAD drawing files are saved as dwg files, having
dwg as file extension).
 Now turn ON the GRIDS (Small dots displayed on screen, they are not printed they help in
visually aligning objects on screen and show the limits of working area.) if they are not visible by
pressing GRID button in the status bar at lower part of the GUI/AutoCAD main screen.
 Make any free hand using line command and mouse, forget the accuracy of the drawing.
To save your new drawing

 From the File menu, choose Save As.

 In the “Save Drawing As” dialog box under File Name, enter a name for the drawing, select
destination in “save in” and choose Save. AutoCAD automatically appends the drawing
extension (.dwg) to the new file name.
Creating a new drawing using Start from scratch option

A quick way to begin a new drawing is to start from scratch, which starts a drawing that uses settings
from a default drawing template file.
The setting you select determines default values used for many system variables controlling text,
dimensions, grid, snap, and the default line type and hatch pattern file.
English/Imperial:

Creates a new drawing based on the Imperial measurement system. The drawing is based on the
acad.dwt template, and the default drawing boundary, called the drawing limits, is 12 × 9 inches.

Metric:

Creates a new drawing based on the metric measurement system. The drawing is based on the
acadiso.dwt template, and the default drawing boundary is 420 × 297 millimeters.

 Hints & Guidelines when using AutoCAD commands

 When using command line
Commands often have options/sub-commands, which are displayed within brackets. To choose an
option, enter the option's capitalized letter (uppercase or lowercase) on the command line. If an option
is preceded by a number, such as the CIRCLE command 3Point option, enter the number and
capitalized letter.

 Commands are not case sensitive.

 Some commands display dialogue box while others display only options at command line therefore,
always keep watching command line for options while working in AutoCAD
 Space bar can also be used as ENTER / RETURN key
 If a command is in progress related help can generally be accessed by pressing F1 key.
 Hitting “ENTER” or “SPACEBAR” at “COMMAND” prompt will re-invoke the last command.
 Pressing “ESC” key is your best friend for getting out of sticky situations.

 Accelerator Keys/function keys

Use Accelerator Keys/function keys to toggle modes “On” & “OFF”. For example,

F1 = Help

F2 = Switches state of text window

F3 = OSNAP on or off.

F6 = COORDINATES on or off.

F7 = GRIDMODE on or off.

F8 = ORTHOMODE on or off.

F9 = SNAPMODE on or off.

Save often ! ! ! !

 Standard Paper Sizes

Metric ISO, Imperial ANSI and USA Architectural are

the world’s top standards for paper sizes. Of these metric
is number one!
An A0 sheet is 1m². This allows paper weights to be
expressed in grams per square meter. Example: 110gsm
paper.
The ratio - length to width - of ISO sheets is 1 to the Square Root 2. This relationship of 1:Sq root 2
is particularly important for reduction onto microfilm, or reduction and enlargement on photocopiers.
All metric equipment including microfilm cameras, microfilm printers, photocopiers, and even
drawing pen sizes, are designed around this ratio. This makes the process of archiving drawings,
resizing, and modifying drawings easy.

The ISO paper sizes are devised in such a way that each smaller size is exactly half the size of the
previous one. If you cut an A0 sheet in half you get two A1 sheets. Oversize* sheets are used when it
is desirable to give extra protection to the drawing sheets by providing a binding or trimming margin.

Drawing Aids
Introduction
Drawing with AutoCAD is really just like drawing on a drawing board. Most new comers to
Computer Aided Design assume that they will need to learn how to draw all over again. In fact, many
of the drawing aids that AutoCAD provides are analogous to traditional drafting tools. This means
that in many respects, the drawing techniques are very similar. If you ever get stuck, think how you
would complete a task on a drawing board and then look for a similar way to do it with AutoCAD.

Grid command

Status Bar (right-click for settings)

Pull-down None

Keyboard GRID or F7

The drawing grid is a regular pattern of dots displayed on the screen which acts as a visual aid; it is
the equivalent of having a sheet of graph paper behind your drawing on a drawing board. These grid
dots are not plotted. You can control the grid spacing, so it can give you a general idea about the size
of drawn objects. The grid dots extend over the area you specify as the grid limits. The grid helps you
align objects and visualize the distances between them. If you zoom in or out of your drawing, you may
need to adjust grid spacing to be more appropriate for the new magnification.

Command Sequence/Try yourself

Command: GRID
Specify grid spacing(X) or
[ON/OFF/Snap/Aspect] <10.000>: (enter grid
spacing e.g. Type 1 & press enter, also try different
values and observe changes in the display)

Study yourself & explore other options

 Although you can use the command line to control the visibility of the grid by using the "ON" and
"OFF" options or by using the F7 key or, better still, by clicking the GRID button on the status bar.
However, the command line does offer some additional options. The Snap option allows you to
automatically set the grid spacing to the current snap spacing

You can also change the aspect ratio of the grid. By default, the X and Y spacing of the Grid are
the same, resulting in a regular square matrix of grid points. But you can display a grid with
different X and Y spacing by using the "Aspect" option.

You can access grid settings by right-clicking the Grid button on the status bar and selecting
Settings… from the short-cut menu. You can also do this from the pull-down menu, Tools
Drafting Settings… and click on the "Snap and Grid" tab.

Limits command (Grid Limits)

You may have noticed that the grid does not extend infinitely in all directions. In fact, it is only
displayed within a finite rectangle. You can control the extent of the visible grid using Drawing
Limits.

Toolbar None

Pull-down Format Drawing Limits

Keyboard LIMITS

Drawing Limits is used to define the extent of the grid display The grid is displayed within a
rectangle defined by two pick points or co-ordinates.

Command Sequence/Try yourself

Command: LIMITS
Reset Model space limits:
Specify lower left corner or [ON/OFF] <0.0000,0.0000>:(enter co-ordinates 2,2)
Specify upper right corner <12,9>: (enter co-ordinates 8,7 )
& observe the change in grid area.

Explore other options by yourself

Drawing Limits can also be used to turn Limits mode on or off. Limits mode can be used to control
where objects can and cannot be drawn. Limits is turned off by default which means that there is
no restriction as to where points can be picked and objects drawn. When Limits is on, AutoCAD
will not allow points to be picked or co-ordinates entered at the command line which fall outside
of the specified drawing limits. If you try to pick a point outside the drawing limits when Limits
mode is turned on, AutoCAD reports to the command line:
**Outside limits

Limits mode is useful if you know the extent of your plotted drawing sheet and you want to
prevent objects being drawn outside of this area. However, Drawing Limits is most commonly
used simply to control the extent of the Grid.
Ortho command/Ortho Mode
Status Bar

Pull-down None

Keyboard ORTHO or F8

Ortho is short for orthogonal, which means either vertical or horizontal. Like the other options on the
status bar, Ortho is not really a command; it is a drawing mode which can either be turned on or off.
Ortho mode can be toggled on or off in one of three ways. The quickest way is just to click on the
ORTHO button on the status bar. The appearance of the button tells you whether Ortho is currently
turned on or turned off. When Ortho is turned on, the ORTHO button appears pressed in. You can
see how this appears by looking at the status bar illustration below. In the illustration, Ortho is turned
on but Grid and Snap are turned off.

Ortho can also be toggled on and off using the F8 Function. Finally, you can also type ORTHO at the
command prompt as in the command sequence below. With Ortho mode turned on you can only
draw lines which are either vertical or horizontal.

Try yourself,
Turn Ortho mode on now and draw some lines to get a feeling for how it works.
Command: ORTHO
Enter mode [ON/OFF] <OFF>: (type ON or OFF)
Ortho mode is probably the simplest of all the drawing aids, and historically one of the oldest. It
is either on or it is off and there are no special settings to make. You may not be surprised to
learn, therefore, that its use has largely been superseded by more recent features, particularly
Polar Tracking (You will learn later)

Snap Mode/Snap Command

Status Bar (right-click for settings)

Pull-down None

Keyboard SNAP or F9

Snap mode takes AutoCAD one step further than the drawing board. With Snap mode turned on
AutoCAD only allows you to pick points at regular intervals/jumps. The Snap is completely
independent of the display grid. However, the Grid spacing and Snap spacing are usually set to the
same value for the ease of understanding.
 Command Sequence
Command: SNAP
Specify snap spacing or [ON/OFF/Aspect/Rotate/Style/Type] <10.0000>: (enter the
required snap spacing in drawing units)

Explore yourself
Although you can use the Snap command to turn Snap mode on and off, it is much more efficient
to use the F9 function key on the keyboard or to click the SNAP button on the status bar.
The "Aspect" option can be used to vary the horizontal and vertical snap spacing independently.
"Rotate" is used to set the snap grid to any angle.

You can force the display grid to conform with the snap grid by setting the display grid spacing to
zero. The display grid will then automatically change each time the snap grid is changed. When
Snap mode is turned on and the Grid is displayed, the Snap and Grid spacing are the same and the
crosshairs will jump from one grid point to another as you move across the screen.
This makes it very easy to draw objects which have a regular shape. The Snap command is used
to set the snap spacing.

All of the Snap variables can also be set using the pull down menu, Tools-Drafting Settings
dialogue box. Right-click on the SNAP button and choose Settings… from the short-cut menu.

 Direct distance input-Tutorial

Object:
Comparing the all coordinate entry methods, by creating this
simple drawing using:

 Absolute coordinate method.

 Relative coordinate method.
 Polar coordinate method.
 Direct distance entry method

Using direct distance entry ( Time saving )

A method to specify a second point by first moving the curser to indicate the direction and then
entering a distance. If ortho is turned ON (Or Polar tracking is used.) only then we can make accurate
horizontal and vertical lines otherwise this method does not give us accuracy in drawing lines.

Procedure:

 Start the software; open a new drawing using start from scratch and English / Imperial option.
Turn ON the GRID.
 Make the object drawing four times (Each time change the color of line when using different
methods by using object properties toolbar) by following all four methods separately in the
same drawing one over the other. And try to understand difference between these methods.

Absolute Method Relative Polar Method Direct Distance Entry

Method Method

Type L or LINE & Press Enter L Enter L Enter L Enter

Type 2 , 2 & Press 2,2 Enter 2,2 2,2 Enter

Enter Enter

Type 8 , 2 & Press @ 6 , 0 Enter @ 6<0 Move curser right, type 6,

Enter Enter Enter

Type 8 , 4 & Press @ 0 , 2 Enter @ 2 < 90 Move curser up, type 2,

Enter Enter Enter

Type 6 , 4 & Press @ -2 , 0 Enter @ 2 < 180 Move curser left, type 2,
Enter Enter Enter

Type 6 , 6 & Press @ 0 , 2 Enter @ 2 < 90 Move curser up, type 2,

Enter Enter Enter

Type 4 , 6 & Press @ -2 , 0 Enter @ 2 < 180 Move curser left , type 2,
Enter Enter Enter

Type 4 , 8 & Press @ 0 , 2 Enter @ 2 < 90 Move curser up, type 2,

Enter Enter Enter

Type 2 , 8 & Press @ -2 , 0 Enter @ 2 < 180 Move curser left, type 2 ,
Enter Enter Enter

Type 2 , 2 Enter, Esc/Enter C Enter C Enter C Enter

 UNITS command/Drawing Units Dialog Box

Format menu: Units

Command entry: units (or 'units for transparent use)

Defines the unit and angle formats.

Length
Specifies the current unit of measurement and the precision for the
current units.
Type
Sets the current format for units of measure. The values include Architectural, Decimal,
Engineering, Fractional, and Scientific. The Engineering and Architectural formats produce feet-
and-inches displays and assume that each drawing unit represents one inch. The other formats can
represent any real-world unit.
Precision
Sets the number of decimal places or fractional size displayed for linear measurements.
Note:-How to enter different units for length (Syntax)
Enter feet and inches using the following format/syntax:
feet'-inches" or feet’ inches" or feet inches

You can separate feet, inches, and fractional inches with a dash, a space, or nothing. You can use any
of the following syntax cases to enter valid feet-inch formatted values:
 5’ or 60”
 5’-9” or 5’ 9” or 5’9”
 5’-1/2” or 5’ 1/2” or 5’1/2”
 5’-9-1/2” or 5’ 9-1/2” or 5’9-1/2”
 5’-9 1/2” or 5’ 9 1/2” or 5’9 1/2”
To designate inches for linear calculations, entering double quotes (“) is optional. For example,
instead of entering 5’9-1/2”, you could enter 5’9-1/2.
Warning With imperial units, CAL interprets a minus or a dash (-) as a unit separator rather than a
subtraction operation. To specify subtraction, include at least one space before or after the minus
sign. For example, to subtract 9” from 5’, enter 5’ -9” rather than 5’-9”.
Angle
Specifies the current angle format and the precision for the current angle display.
Type
Sets the current angle format.
Precision
Sets the precision for the current angle display.
Clockwise
Calculates positive angles in the clockwise direction. The default direction for positive angles is
counterclockwise.
Insertion Scale
Controls the unit of measurement for blocks and drawings that are inserted into the current drawing.
A block or a drawing that is created with units that are different from the units specified with this
option is scaled when inserted. The insertion scale is the ratio of the units used in the source block or
drawing and the units used in the target drawing. Select Unitless to insert the block without scaling it
to match the specified units.
Sample Output
Displays an example of the current settings for units and angles.
Direction
Defines the angle for 0 degrees and specifies the direction in which
angles are measured. When prompted for an angle.
Base Angle
East, North, West & South, Sets the direction of the zero angle.
Other
Specifies a direction different from the points of the compass.
Angle
Specifies a value for the zero angle when other is selected, you can
specify the angle by entering a value.
Pick an Angle Button
Defines the zero angle in the graphics area based on the angle of an imaginary line that connects
any two points you specify with the pointing device. Available only when other is selected.
 CIRCLE Command
Along with Line and Polyline, the Circle
command is probably one of the most
frequently used. Fortunately it is also one of
the simplest. However, in common with the
other commands in this section there are a
number of options that can help you
construct just the circle you need. Most of these
options are self explanatory. The Circle
command, for example, offers 6 ways to create
a circle,
Try yourself-Tutorial
Command: CIRCLE
Specify center point for circle
or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]:
(pick P1 anywhere or type 6,6)
Specify radius of circle or
[Diameter] (pick P2 anywhere or
type 2.5 as radius)

Explore and practice various circle command options

For example, the circle command gives you three extra options to define a circle. 3P which uses any
three points on the circumference, 2P which uses two points on the circumference to form a diameter
and Ttr which stands for Tangent Tangent Radius. Obviously to use this last option you need to have
drawn two lines which you can use as tangents to the circle. Try these options out to see how they
work. Note that to invoke a command option; you need only type the upper-case part of the option
name. For example, if you want to use the Ttr option, you need only enter "T". There are two more
circle options on the pull-down menu that enable you to draw a circle by defining the center and
diameter or by using 3 tangents.
 Exercise

 RECTANGLE Command

The Rectangle
command is
used to draw a rectangle whose sides are vertical and horizontal. The
position and size of the rectangle are defined by picking two diagonal corners. The rectangle
isn't really an AutoCAD object at all. It is, in fact, just a closed polyline which is automatically
drawn for you.

Try yourself-Tutorial,
First, Open an imperial file by using start from scratch option,

Command: RECTANG
Specify first corner point or
[Chamfer/Elevation/Fillet/Thickness/Width]: (pick P1 or Type 0 , 0)
Specify other corner point or [Dimensions]: (pick P2 or type 12 , 9)
Notice that, instead of picking a second point to draw the rectangle, you have the option
of entering dimensions. Say you wanted to draw a rectangle 8 drawing units long and 5
drawing units wide. The command sequence would look like this:

Try yourself-Tutorial
Command: RECTANG
Specify first corner point or
[Chamfer/Elevation/Fillet/Thickness/Width]: (pick a
point P1 anywhere or type 2 , 2 )
Specify other corner point or [Dimensions]: D
 Specify length for rectangles <0.0000>: 8
Specify width for rectangles <0.0000>: 5
Specify other corner point or [Dimensions]: (pick a point to fix the orientation)

 Selecting objects or Defining selection set

Introduction
Before you start to use the AutoCAD Modify commands, you need to know something about
selecting objects. All of the Modify commands require that you make one or more object
selections. A selection set can consist of a single object, or it can be a more complex grouping.
You can create the selection set either before or after you choose an editing command. You can
make several changes to the same selection set. AutoCAD has a whole range of tools which are
designed to help you select just the objects you need. This tutorial is designed to demonstrate the
use of many of the selection options. As with so many aspects of AutoCAD, developing a good
working knowledge of these options can drastically improve your drawing speed and efficiency.

Before you can edit objects, you need to create a selection set of the objects. Use one of the
following methods to create selection sets.

Selecting Objects by Picking/Pointing with mouse.

When you start a Modify command such as ERASE, two things happen. First, the cursor changes
from the usual crosshairs to the pickbox and second, you will see the "Select objects" prompt on
the command line. Both of these cues are to let you know that AutoCAD is expecting you to
select one or more objects.
To select an object, place the pickbox
over a part of the object and left-click
the mouse. When the object has been
picked it is highlighted in a dashed
line to show that it is part of the
current selection and the command
line reports "1 found". You will now
see the "Select objects" prompt on the command line again. At this point you can continue
adding more objects to the current selection by picking them or you can press or the Space
Bar to complete the selection.

Draw a circle using the CIRCLE command, the size and position of the circle does not
matter.

Erase the Circle, Try yourself-Tutorial Tutorial

Erase the circle using the ERASE command, Modify Erase from the pull-down or
from the Modify toolbar.
Command: ERASE
Select objects: (place the pickbox over a circle circumference and left-click)
1 found
Select objects: (press to complete the selection and erase the object)
Creating selection sets by picking objects can become quite tedious if you want to select a large
number of objects. Just imagine having to pick a hundred or more objects in a large drawing.
Fortunately AutoCAD provides a number of selection options which can help you select objects
more efficiently.

When you pick one or more objects in response to the "Select objects" prompt, you are
effectively creating a selection set. Selection sets are an important concept in AutoCAD because
they can be used to great effect, especially when drawings become large or complicated.

Window Selection/ Window or W, option

The Window option is invoked by typing W in response to the "Select objects" prompt. Window
allows you to define a rectangle using two points in exactly the same way as the RECTANGLE
command. Once the window is defined, all objects which lie entirely within the window will be
selected.

Try yourself-Tutorial
First draw several circles of any size as shown in figure and than, start ERASE command,

Command: ERASE
Select objects: W
First corner: (pick first corner of selection window)
Specify opposite corner: (pick second corner of the selection window)
Select objects: (at this point you can either select more objects or to complete the
selection set and continue with the current command.)
Crossing Window Selection/Crossing or C option

The Crossing Window option is invoked by typing C at the "Select objects" prompt and
is a variation of the Window command, A crossing selection is displayed as dashed line.
The command sequence is exactly the same but objects are selected which lie entirely
within the window and those which cross the window border

The Undo option

It often happens that you inadvertently add objects which you don't want to a selection
set during its compilation. When this occurs in the middle of a complicated selection it
can be pretty annoying. Fortunately AutoCAD allows you to undo the last selection made
during the compilation of a selection set. All you need do is enter U at the next "Select
objects" prompt to remove the objects previously added.

Selects all objects /All option

The All option is invoked by typing ALL at the "Select objects" prompt. You can use this option
to select all the objects in the current drawing, no picking is required. Objects on Locked or
Frozen layers are not selected but objects on layers which are simply turned off are selected.

 Use of OBJECTSNAP/OSNAP to locate points [ F3 ]

Making drawings accurately

Introduction

Tools menu: Drafting Settings

Shortcut menu: Right-click Snap, Grid, Polar, Osnap, Otrack, or Dyn on the status
bar and click Settings.

Command entry: dsettings (or 'dsettings for transparent use)

The Object Snaps (Osnaps for short) are drawing aids which are used in conjunction with other
commands to help you draw accurately. Osnaps allow you to snap onto a specific object
location when you are picking a point. For example, using Osnaps you
can accurately pick the end point of a line or the center of a circle.
Osnaps in AutoCAD are so important that you cannot draw accurately
without them. For this reason, you must develop a good understanding
of what the Osnaps are and how they work. This tutorial describes the
use of all the osnaps. There are a number of worked examples which demonstrate Osnaps in
use.

Using OSNAP through keyboard or OSNAP toolbar

ENDpoint
The Endpoint Osnap snaps to the end points of lines and arcs and to polyline vertices. This
is one of the most useful and commonly used Osnaps

Toolbar Object Snap

Pull-down Shift + Right Click Endpoint

Keyboard END (when picking)

MIDpoint
The Midpoint Osnap snaps to the mid points of lines and arcs and to the mid point of
polyline segments.

Toolbar Object Snap

Pull-down Shift + Right Click Midpoint

Keyboard MID (when picking)

INTersection
The Intersection Osnap snaps to the physical intersection of any two drawing objects (i.e.
where lines, arcs or circles etc. cross each other) and to Polyline vertices.

Toolbar Object Snap

Pull-down Shift + Right Click Intersection

Keyboard INT (when picking)

CENter
The Center Osnap snaps to the centre of a circle, arc or polyline arc
segment. The cursor must pass over the circumference of the circle or
the arc so that the centre can be found.

Toolbar Object Snap

Pull-down Shift + Right Click Center

Keyboard CEN (when picking)

QUADrant
The Quadrant Osnap snaps to one of the four circle quadrant points located at north,
south, east and west or 90, 270, 0 and 180 degrees respectively.

Toolbar Object Snap

Pull-down Shift + Right Click Quadrant
Keyboard QUA or QUAD (when picking)

TANgent
The Tangent Osnap snaps to a tangent point on a circle. This osnap works in two ways.
You can either draw a line from a point to the tangent point (see illustration) or you can
draw a line from a tangent point, the latter is referred to as the "Deferred Tangent" snap
mode.

Toolbar Object Snap

Pull-down Shift + Right Click Tangent

Keyboard TAN (when picking)

PERpendicular
The Perpendicular Osnap snaps to a point which forms a perpendicular with the selected
object. As with the Tangent Osnap, Perpendicular can be used to draw a line to a
perpendicular point, as in the illustration or from a
perpendicular point, known as the "Deferred Perpendicular"
snap mode.

Toolbar Object Snap

Pull-down Shift + Right Click Perpendicular
Keyboard PER or PERP (when picking)

PARallel
The Parallel Osnap is used to draw a line parallel to any other line in your drawing. In
operation, this osnap is slightly less intuitive than some of the others. To draw a parallel line,
first start the Line command, specify the first point when prompted and then start the Parallel
Osnap. Hover the cursor over an existing line until you see the Parallel snap marker. Now,
move the cursor close to a parallel position and a dotted line will appear, indicating the
parallel. You can now pick the second point of your line. The Snap Tip also includes a
relative polar co-ordinate.

Toolbar Object Snap

Pull-down Shift + Right Click Parallel
Keyboard PAR or PARA (when picking)
 Exercises
 TRIM command
Modify toolbar:

Modify menu: Trim

Command entry: trim

Trims objects at a cutting edge defined by other objects

To trim an object

1. Click Modify menu » Trim.

2. Current settings: Projection = current Edge = current
Select cutting edges...

Select objects or <select all>: Select one or more objects to serve as cutting edges and
press ENTER, or press ENTER to select all displayed objects

3. Select object to trim or shift-select to extend or

[Fence/Crossing/Project/Edge/eRase/Undo]: Select the objects to trim.

 FILLET command
Filleting connects two objects with a smoothly fitted arc of a
specified radius. Although in real world an inside corner is
called a fillet and an outside corner is called a round, AutoCAD treats both as fillets.

Setting the Fillet Radius first

To set the fillet radius
1. From the Modify menu, choose Fillet.
2. Enter r (Radius).
3. Specify the fillet radius.
4. Press ENTER to reenter the FILLET command.
5. Select the objects to fillet.

 CHAMFER command
Chamfering connects two nonparallel objects by extending
or trimming them to intersect or to join with a beveled line.
You can chamfer lines, polylines, xlines, and rays. With the
distance method, you specify the amount that each line
should be trimmed or extended.

The chamfer distance is the amount each object is trimmed or extended to meet the
chamfer line or to intersect the other object. If both chamfer distances are 0, chamfering
trims or extends the two objects until they meet but does not draw a chamfer line.

The default setting for the first distance is the last distance specified. The default setting for
the second distance is whatever you choose for the first distance, because symmetrical
distances are common. However, you can reset the chamfer distances.
To chamfer by specifying distances

1. From the Modify menu, choose Chamfer or

2. Command line CHAMFER
3. Enter d (Distance).
4. Enter the first chamfer distance.
5. Enter the second chamfer distance.
6. Press ENTER to reenter the CHAMFER command.
7. Select the lines for chamfering.

 The Ellipse Command

Toolbar Draw

Pull-down Draw Ellipse Axis, End

Keyboard ELLIPSE short-cut EL

The Ellipse command gives you a number of different creation options. The default option is to
pick the two end points of an axis and then a third point to define the eccentricity of the ellipse.
After you have mastered the default option, try out the others.

Try yourself-Tutorial
Command: ELLIPSE
Specify axis endpoint of ellipse or [Arc/Center]: (pick P1)
Specify other endpoint of axis: (pick P2)
Specify distance to other axis or [Rotation]: (pick P3)

 OFFSET command

Offset creates a new object whose shape parallels the shape of a selected object. Offsetting a
circle or an arc creates a larger or smaller circle or arc, depending on which side you specify for
the offset.
A highly effective drawing technique is to offset objects and then trim or extend their ends.

You can offset

 Lines
 Arcs
 Circles
 Ellipses and elliptical arcs
 2D polylines
 Construction lines (xlines) and rays
 Splines

To offset an object by specifying a distance

 1. Click Modify menu » Offset.
2. Specify the offset distance.
You can enter a value or use the pointing device to specify the distance/gap

3. Select the object to offset.

4. Specify a point on the side where you want to place the new objects.
5. Select another object to offset, or press ENTER to end the command.

 Exercise – Oval Wash Basin (Assume missing dimensions, if any)

 Exercise – Fancy Door (Assume missing dimensions, If any)

 The Rectangular Array

Toolbar Modify

Pull-down Modify Array

Keyboard ARRAY short-cut AR

The Array command makes multiple copies of selected

objects in a rectangular matrix (columns and rows) or a polar
(circular) pattern. The illustration on the right shows the results of a rectangular array with two
columns and three rows. The distance between rows is indicated with the dimension DR and
between columns with DC. When creating rectangular arrays it is important to remember that
new rows are created above the original object and new columns are created to the right of the
original object. The resulting array is, therefore, always created with the original object in the
bottom left hand position with respect to the current co-ordinate system. In the illustration, the
original object is shown in dashed line and the new objects in continuous lines.

Note: It is possible to create arrays which do not align with the World Co-ordinate System by
setting a User Co-ordinate System first
Try yourself-Tutorial
Try creating this array yourself. First
open a new file with metric settings, draw
a rectangle 20 drawing units wide and 10
drawing units tall somewhere in the
lower left quarter of the drawing area.

Now start the Array command. First of

all, make sure that the Rectangular Array
button is selected and that you are
looking at the Rectangular Array
dialogue box and now follow the steps
below:

1. Click the Select objects button. The dialogue box will temporarily disappear enabling you
to select the rectangle you just drew. Press enter button on your keyboard to complete
the selection. You are now returned to the dialogue box and the message immediately
below the Select Objects button should read "1 objects selected".
2. Enter the number of rows required in the Rows edit box. For this example, enter the
value "3". Notice that the schematic preview on the right hand side of the dialogue box
updates to reflect the values you are entering.
3. Enter the number of columns required in the Columns edit box. Enter the value "2".
4. Enter the row offset in the Row Offset edit box. This is the distance DR as discussed
earlier. Note that is not the distance between rows. In this example, our rectangle is 1
units high and we will enter a row offset of 15. The result will be a 5 unit gap between
rows of rectangles.
5. Enter the column offset in the Column Offset edit box. The same parameters apply as
for the row offset. Enter a value of 25 to give a 5 unit gap between our rectangles.
6. Click on the Preview button. Once again, the dialogue box disappears and the specified
array is temporarily drawn so that we can preview it. We are now offered 3 choices. If
the array isn't quite right, click the Modify button to
 return to the Array dialogue box. If you are happy with the array, click the Accept
button, the array will be permanently drawn and the command is ended.

You should now have an array that looks similar to the one in the illustration above consisting of
6 rectangles arranged in 3 rows and 2 columns. As you can se, this command is very powerful
and can save lots of time if used carefully.
Note: Try negative values specifying DR ( -15 ) & DC ( -25 ) in step no.4 & 5 , and see the
different arrays you get with such combinations.

Exercise – Ventilation Panel

Complete the drawing of the ventilation panel. Use the Array command with the Rectangular
option to create a total of 8 rows and 5 columns.

 Exercise

 The Polar Array

The polar array works in a similar way to the
rectangular array. The main difference is that
rather than specifying the number and offset for
rows and columns, you must specify a center point and the total number of objects in the array
(including the original object).

Try yourself-Tutorial
You can try this for yourself by drawing another rectangle as described above. This time, though,
locate the rectangle in the centre top half of the drawing area. Now, start the Array command,
click the Polar Array button and follow the steps below:

1. Same as earlier
2. Specify the center point for the array. This is the point C in the illustration below. You
can do this by entering x and y co-ordinates into the appropriate edit boxes if you know
what these values should be. However, this is rarely the case and most often you will
want to click the Pick Center Point button to pick a point from the drawing area. Pick a
point somewhere below the rectangle you have just drawn.
3. Enter a value for the total number of items. For this example, enter the value "6". Notice
that once again, the schematic preview updates to reflect the values you have entered.
4. Make sure that the Rotate items as copied checkbox is checked/selected
5. Same as step six in earlier
example

The array you have just drawn should

look something like the one illustrated
below, left. Take some time to play
around with the other options in the
Array dialogue box to see what they can
do.
The illustration shows the results of a
polar array using an original rectangle
copied six times about a centre point C,
through an angle of 360 degrees. The only difference between the array on the left and
the one on the right is that the Rotate items as copied checkbox was not checked in the right hand
example.
All new objects created with the Array command will inherit the object properties of the original
object.

 Exercises – Polar array

 Exercises (Door, Window & Chair)
 The Copy and Move Commands

With Copy command you can create Copies/duplicates of objects at a specified distance in a
specified direction

Try yourself-Tutorial

First start a drawing with imperial settings, draw the figure show below,

Command: Rectangle

Specify first corner point or

[Chamfer/Elevation/Fillet/Thickness/Width]: pick a point P1
anywhere

Specify other corner point or [Area/Dimensions/Rotation]: Type @2,

1 and press enter

Now start Line command

Command: _line Specify first point: Select the lower left corner of
rectangle P1 as start point of line

Specify next point or [Undo]: Select the upper right corner of rectangle P2 as end of line

Specify next point or [Undo]: Press enter to end the Line command

Start Circle command to draw the circle

Command: circle

Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: Pick the mid point of the diagonal
line

Specify radius of circle or [Diameter] <0.3126>: Type 0.25

To create a copy/duplicate of the rectangle at a gap of one inch from the previous rectangle.

Start Copy command by any one of the following methods

Command: copy

Select objects: Select the rectangle only

Select objects: Press enter to end selection

Specify base point or [Displacement] <Displacement>: Select lower left corner of the rectangle
P1

Specify second point or <use first point as displacement>: Type @3, 0 and press enter

Specify second point or [Exit/Undo] <Exit>: (If you want to create more copies specify next
location) But now press enter to end copy command

With Move command you can move objects at a specified distance and direction from the
originals.
The Move command works in a similar way to the Copy command except that no duplicate/copy
is made, the selected object(s) is simply moved/shifted from one location to another.
To move/shift the diagonal line and circle start move command by any one of the following
methods,

Command: move

Select objects: Select the diagonal line

Select objects: Now select the circle

Select objects: Press enter to end move command

Specify base point or [Displacement] <Displacement>: Select the upper right corner P2 of the
rectangle

Specify second point or <use first point as displacement>: Select upper right corner P3 of the
copied rectangle on the right side

 POINT Command
Points are very simple objects and the
process of creating them is also very
simple. Points are rarely used as
drawing components. They are normally
used just as drawing aids in a similar
way that Construction Lines and Rays are used. When adding points to a drawing it is usually
desirable to set the point style first because the default style can be difficult to see.

The point command will insert a point marker in your drawing at a position which you pick in the
drawing window or at any co-ordinate location which you enter at the keyboard. The default
point style is a simple dot, which is often difficult to see but you can change the point style to
something more easily visible or elaborate using the point style dialogue box. You can snap to
points using the Node object snap (You will learn this when doing Object Snap tutorial for details)

Points can be used for "setting out" a drawing in addition to construction lines. You can Snap to
points using the Node object snap.

Try yourself-Tutorial
(Draw some points at various locations)
Command: POINT
Current point modes: PDMODE=0 PDSIZE=0.0000
Specify a point: (pick any point or type the coordinates
where you want to draw a point)
Strangely, in Multiple Point mode (the default for the Point
button on the Draw toolbar) you will need to use the escape
key (Esc) on your keyboard to end the command. The usual
right-click or enter doesn't work.

You can start the point style command from the

keyboard by typing DDPTYPE or you can start it
from the pull-down menu at Format Point
Style… The command starts by displaying a
dialogue box offering a number of options.

To change the point style, just pick the picture of

the style you want and then click the "OK" button. Any new points created after the style has
been set will automatically display in the new style.

One interesting aspect of points is that their size can be set to an absolute value or relative to the
screen size, expressed as a percentage. The default is for points to display relative to the screen
size, which is very useful because it means that points will remain the same size, irrespective of
zoom factor. This is particularly convenient when drawings become complex and the drawing
process requires a lot of zooming in and out.

 The Construction Line Command

The Construction Line command creates a line
of infinite length which passes through two
picked points. Construction lines are very
useful for creating construction frameworks or
grids within which to design.
Construction lines are not normally used as objects in finished drawings, it is usual, therefore,nto
draw all your construction lines on a separate layer which will be turned off or frozen prior to
printing. Because of their nature, the Zoom Extents command option ignores construction lines.

Try yourself-Tutorial
First open a new drawing using start from scratch with imperial settings, zoom out once
and add/draw some line using xline command,
Command: XLINE
Specify a point or [Hor/Ver/Ang/Bisect/Offset]: (pick a point anywhere or
type 0,0)
Specify through point: (pick a second point anywhere or type 12,9)
Specify through point: (to end )

You may notice that there are a number of options with this command. For example, the
"Hor" and "Ver" options can be used to draw construction lines that are truly horizontal
or vertical. In both these cases, only a single pick point is required because the direction
of the line is predetermined. To use a command option, simply enter the capitalized part
of the option name at the command prompt. Follow the command sequence below to see
how you would draw a construction line using the Horizontal option.

 Exercise -

 The Polyline command

The Polyline or Pline command is similar to the line command except that the resulting object
may be composed of a number of segments
which form a single object. In addition to the
two ends a polyline is said to have vertices
(singular vertex) where intermediate line
segments join. In practice the Polyline
command works in the same way as the Line command allowing you to pick as many points as
you like. Again, just hit to end. As with the Line command, you also have the option to
automatically close a polyline end to end. To do this, type C to use the close option instead of
hitting .

You may be wondering, if Polylines are so useful, why bother using ordinary lines at all? There are
a number of answers to this question. The most frequently given answer is that because of their
complexity, polylines use up more disk space than the equivalent line. As it is desirable to keep file
sizes as small as possible, it is a good idea to use lines rather than polylines unless you have a
particular requirement. You will also find, as you work with AutoCAD that lines and polylines are
operationally different. Sometimes it is easier to work with polylines for certain tasks and at other
times lines are best. You will quickly learn the pros and cons of these two sorts of line when you
begin drawing with AutoCAD.

Follow the command sequence below to see how this works. Polylines can also be given line
widths to make them appear solid. The figure shows a number of polylines to give you an idea of
the flexibility of this type of line.

Try yourself-Tutorial
Command: PLINE
Specify start point: (pick P1)
Current line-width is 0.0000
Specify next point or [Arc/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]: (pick P2)
Specify next point or [Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]: (pick P3)
Specify next point or [Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]: (pick P4)
Specify next point or [Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]: (pick P5)
Specify next point or [Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]: (or C to
close)

The figure on the left was created by hitting the key after the fifth point was picked. The
figure on the right demonstrates the effect of using the Close option. Try experimenting with
options such as Arc and Width and see if you can create polylines like the ones in the illustration
above.

Polylines can be edited after they are created to, for example, change their width. You can do
this using the PEDIT command which will be discussed/taught later.

 The Donut Command

 This command draws a solid donut shape.
AutoCAD asks you to define the inside diameter
i.e. the diameter of the hole and then the outside
diameter of the donut. The donut is then drawn in
outline and you are asked to pick the centre point
in order to position the donut. You can continue
picking centre points to draw more donuts or you can hit to end the command. Surprisingly,
donuts are constructed from single closed polylines composed of two arc segments which have
been given a width. Fortunately AutoCAD works all this out for you, so all you see is a donut.

Try yourself-Tutorial
First open a new imperial drawing file, and try this
Command: DONUT
Specify inside diameter of donut <0.5000>: (type 2 as inside/hole diameter)
Specify outside diameter of donut <1.0000>: (type 4 as outside diameter )
Specify center of donut or <exit>: (pick P1 anywhere or type 2,2)
Specify center of donut or <exit>: (to end or continue to pick for more
donuts)
Curiously enough AutoCAD doesn't seem to mind if you make the inside diameter of a
donut larger than the outside diameter, try it and see.
 Exercise - Printed Circuit
Complete the printed circuit board. Use Donut with an inside diameter of 0.1 and an outside
diameter of 0.2 to create the pads. Use Pline with a width of 0.12 to complete the traces. Use a 0.25
Grid and Grid Snap to place all pads (Donuts) on a point.

 The Polygon Command

The Polygon command can be used to draw any regular polygon from 3 sides
up to 1024 sides. This command requires four inputs from the user, the
number of sides, a pick point for the centre of the polygon, whether you want
the polygon inscribed (Inside a circle) or circumscribed(Outside a circle) and
then a pick point which determines both the radius of this imaginary circle and
the orientation of the polygon. The polygon command creates a closed
polyline in the shape of the required polygon.

Try yourself-Tutorial
Command: POLYGON
Enter number of sides <4>: 5
Specify center of polygon or [Edge]: (pick P1 anywhere or
type 12,0)
Enter an option [Inscribed in circle/Circumscribed about
circle] <I>: (to accept the inscribed default)
Specify radius of circle: (pick P2 anywhere or type 2 as a
radius)

Try yourself-Tutorial
Enter number of sides <4>: 5
Specify center of polygon or [Edge]: (pick P1 anywhere or type 12,9)
Enter an option [Inscribed in circle/Circumscribed about circle] <I>:
( type C for circumscribed)
Specify radius of circle: (pick P2 anywhere or type 2 as radius)

Try yourself-Tutorial
Command: POLYGON
Enter number of sides <4>: 5
Specify center of polygon or [Edge]: (type E to define by edge length)
Specify first end point of Edge: (pick P1 anywhere or type 6,4.5)
Specify first end point of Edge: (pick P2 or specify length by any method)
 Exercises
 The Arc Command

The Arc command allows you to draw an arc of a

circle. There are numerous ways to define an arc, the
default method uses three pick points, a start point, a
second point and an end point. Using this method, the
drawn arc will start at the first pick point, pass through the second point and end at the third
point. Once you have mastered the default method try some of the others. You may, for example
need to draw an arc with a specific radius. All of the Arc command options are available from
the pull-down menu.

Try yourself-Tutorial
Command: ARC
Specify start point of arc or [Center]: (pick P1
anywhere)
Specify second point of arc or [Center/End]:
(pick P2 anywhere)
Specify end point of arc: (pick P3)

Note: It is also possible to create an arc by trimming a circle object. In practice, many arcs are
actually created this way.
 Exercise – Drawing ARCS

 Exercise – Bath Tub

 ROTATE Command
Try yourself-Tutorial
First draw a figure similar to the one shown on right, or draw any other figure,
Start ROTATE command by using any one of the following methods

Command: _ROTATE
Current positive angle in UCS: ANGDIR=ccw ANGBASE=0
Select objects: Select Entities (Select the arrow only)
Specify base point: Select the point around which you will rotate
the entities.(Select the center of the circle)
Specify rotation angle or [Copy/Reference]: Enter angle (Type
120 degree angle & press enter)
 Loading different line types into drawing file using
Linetype Manager
Format menu: Linetype

Command entry: linetype (or 'linetype for transparent use)

Loads linetypes and sets the current linetype.

Load
Displays the Load or Reload Linetypes dialog box, in which you can load into the
drawing selected linetypes and add them to the linetype list.
Current
Sets the selected linetype to be the current linetype.
Delete
Deletes selected linetypes from the drawing. You can delete only unused linetypes. The
BYLAYER, BYBLOCK, and CONTINUOUS linetypes cannot be deleted.
 Exercises – Bed, Desktop Phone set & Slotted Flat Head Screw

 Creating & formatting Multiline / Paragraph text

Draw toolbar:
Draw menu: Text » Multiline Text

Command entry: mtext

To create multiline text

1. Click Draw menu » Text » Multiline Text.

2. Specify opposite corners of a bounding box to define the width of the multiline text object.
The In-Place Text Editor is displayed as shown above.

3. If you want to use a text style other than the default, click the arrow next to the Text Style
control on the toolbar and then select a style.
4. Enter text.
Note Text that would otherwise be difficult to read (if it is very small, very large, or is rotated) is
displayed at a legible size and is oriented horizontally so that you can easily read and edit it.

5. To override the current text style, select text as follows:

 To select one or more letters, click and drag the pointing device over the characters.
 To select a word, double-click the word.
 To select a paragraph, triple-click the paragraph.
6. On the toolbar, make format changes as follows:
 To change the font of the selected text, select a font from the list.
 To change the height of the selected text, enter a new value in the Height box.
 To format text in a TrueType font with boldface or italics, or to create underlined or
overlined text for any font, click the corresponding button on the toolbar. SHX fonts do
not support boldface or italics.
 To apply color to selected text, choose a color from the Color list. Click Other to display
the Select Color dialog box.
7. To save your changes and exit the editor, use one of the following methods:
 Click OK on the toolbar.
 Click in the drawing outside the editor.
 Press CTRL+ENTER.

To insert symbols or special characters in multiline text

1. Double-click a multiline text object to open the In-Place Text Editor.

2. On the expanded toolbar, click Symbol.
3. Click one of the options on the menu, or click Other to display the Character Map dialog box.
To access the Character Map dialog box, you must have charmap.exe installed. See
Microsoft® Windows® Help for information about adding programs to your system.

4. In the Character Map dialog box, select a font.

5. Select a character, and use one of the following methods:
 To insert a single character, drag the selected character into the editor.
  To insert multiple characters, click Select to add each character to the Characters to
Copy box. When you have all the characters you want, click Copy. Right-click in the
editor. Click Paste.
6. To save your changes and exit the editor, use one of the following methods:
 Click OK on the toolbar.
 Click in the drawing outside the editor.
Press CTRL+ENTER.
 The Mirror Command

The Mirror command allows you to mirror selected objects in your

drawing by picking them and then defining the position of an
imaginary mirror line using two points.

Try yourself
First create a figure similar to the shown above and
use mirror command

Command: MIRROR
Select objects: (pick object to mirror, P1)
Select objects: (to end selection)
Specify first point of mirror line: (pick P2)
Specify second point of mirror line: (pick P3)
Delete source objects? [Yes/No] <N>: (for No to
keep the original object)
Notice that in the command sequence above, pressing the key
when asked whether to "Delete source objects?" resulted in a "No" response. This is because
"No" is the default option. AutoCAD always shows the default option within triangular brackets,
in this case "<N>". Many AutoCAD commands offer default options. They are usually the most
commonly used and you need only right-click and select "Enter" from the menu or press on
the keyboard to accept them.
In order to create perfectly horizontal or vertical mirror lines use Ortho.

 Exercise – Mirror the Pulley

Draw one side of the pulley shown in Figure. Use the Mirror command to complete the other
side, Save the drawing as PULLEY.
 Exercise – Mirror the elevation

Practice drawing half of the figure shown below and than use mirror command to create the
opposite half. Assume any appropriate dimensions/sizes.

 Creating Layers, using Layer manager dialogue box-Tutorial

Object

Create following layers, assign color and line type to each

layer by using the layer and line type properties dialogue
box.

Introduction

Layers are like transparent overlays on which you organize and group different kinds of drawing
information. The objects you create have common properties including colors, Linetypes, and
lineweights. An object can assume these properties from the layer it is drawn on, or properties
can be specifically assigned to individual objects. Color helps you distinguish similar elements in
your drawings, enhancing your drawing and increasing legibility. Organizing layers and the
objects on layers makes it easier to manage the
information in your drawings.

You can assign properties to layers as well as to

individual objects in a drawing. If you want a
specific object to have a different color, Linetype,
lineweight than the layer it is drawn on, you can
change the object property setting.

Common layers mostly used in drawings are walls, doors, windows, plumbing, electrical,
fixtures, structural elements, notes (text), dimensions, ceiling, insulation, posts, title block,
center, hidden, hatch, object and so on.

Procedure

The formation of layers in a drawing involves the following steps.

First open a new drawing file using start from scratch and imperial settings. Give it a name
(Layer practice) by using Save as option in the file menu.

Creating and Naming Layers

Use any one of the following methods to display the Layer properties manager dialog as
shown.

Layers toolbar:

Format menu: Layer

Command entry: layer (or 'layer for transparent use or –layer to avoid dialogue box)
Listed in the box is only one layer which is default Layer. Generally drawings are not
created on 0 layer, instead it should be created on newly created layers. To create these
Layers, click on the “New Layer” button and notice a layer is automatically added to the
list of layers. This layer is given a default name “Layer 1” but you can type Object here as
this is the layer which we want to create.

Pressing/Typing/Entering a comma at the end of the layer’s name, allows more layers to
be added to the list of layers. Once the comma was entered after the layer “Object” and
 the new layer appears, enter the new name of the layer as “Hidden”. Repeat this
procedure of using comma to create other desired layers. The layer listing will be as
shown above in figure except the circle on the color swatch.

Assigning Color to a Layer

As all the layers are displayed, the names may be different

but they all have the same color and line type (see figure). At
this time the dialog box comes in real handy to assign color
and linetypes to layers in quick and easy manner. First
select/highlight the desired layer to add color or line types by
picking the layer. A horizontal shaded bar displays that this is
the selected layer.

Click on the color swatch identified by the circle in the above figure, and assign/select
the color “Red” for the “Hidden” layer name. Repeat this procedure for assigning colors
to other layers.

Assigning a Linetype to a Layer

 Once the color has been assigned to a layer the next step is to assign the line type to the
layer. The “Hidden” layer requires the line type called the “Hidden”. Click on the
“Continuous” to display the select “Line type”
Dialog box as shown in the figure beside. By
default continuous is the only line type loaded
into your file. Clicking on the Load button,
displays “Load OR Reload Line Types” dialog box
as shown below.

Select/pick the desired line types (Keep Ctrl OR Shift keys pressed while selecting
multiple line types.) Click Ok button to return to the Select Line type dialog box. You will
see that hidden line type is listed along with the “Continuous”.

As the line type has just been loaded,

it still has not been assigned to the
“Hidden” layer. Click on Hidden layer
line type listed in the select line type
dialog box and click on OK button.
Once the Layer and line type
properties dialog box reappears,
notice that the “Hidden” line type has
been assigned to the “Hidden” layer.
Repeat this procedure to assign line
types to other layers.

It is to be noted that when layers are first created they are listed in the order they were
entered/created. When the layers are saved and Layer & Line type dialog box is
displayed again, all layers are recorded alphabetically.

Deleting Layers
Renaming Layers

You may want to rename a layer to better define how it's used in your drawing. You can
rename a layer at any time during a drawing session. You cannot rename layer 0. To
rename a layer first highlight/select the layer name than keep Alt key pressed and click
the name with mouse pointer.