AutoCAD

THE AUTOCAD INTERFACE

Pull Down Menu

Menu Bar

Tool Bars Screen Menu Grid

GRAPHICS SCREEN

Cross Hairs

UCS ICON

Command Line or Prompt Area

Status Bar

Shaukat Ali Shah, UET Peshawar

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THE MAIN SCREEN OF THE AUTOCAD

Tool Bars

Pull Down Menu

Menu Bar

Screen Menu

WCS Icon

Command Line Status Bas

Graphic Window/Screen

Cross Hair

The graphics window is where AutoCAD displays your drawing and where you work on your drawing. The text window displays a history of the commands and options you have entered. The cross hairs are controlled by your pointing device (usually a mouse) and are used to locate points and select objects in your drawing. The status bar displays the coordinate location of your crosshairs and the current settings of grid.

The AutoCAD Interface

When you first start AutoCAD, the initial screen contains the menu bar at the top, the status bar at the bottom, the drawing window, the command window and several tool bars. Toolbars contain icons that represent commands. The menu bar contains the menus. The status bar displays the cursor coordinates and the status of modes such as Grid and Snap. Mode names are always visible in the status bar as selectable buttons. Double-click Snap, Grid, or Ortho to turn it on.

Shaukat Ali Shah, UET Peshawar

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How To Access Commands

The commands in the AutoCAD can be run using one of the following methods: Choosing a Menu item Clicking a Tool on Toolbar Entering a command

Most commands that can be entered on the command line can be found on a menu or a toolbar, and most commands have additional choices, or options. Some commands display these options on the command line, while others display them in a dialog box. You enter command line options by typing at least the capitalized portion of the option name and then pressing ENTER. You set command options in a dialog box by clicking the option with the pointing device and then choosing OK. By placing an apostrophe () before some commands, these commands can be entered transparently that is, while another command is active. For example, while using the Line command, you can enter zoom to change your drawing display without exiting the Line command. When you exit the zoom command, the Line command remains active.

The last used settings of most command options are remembered in the system variables, which are stored in the drawing file. System variables determine the behavior and default values for a command the next time you run it.

At the command prompt, you can invoke the last used command by pressing the ENTER key. You can exit any command by pressing the ESC.

ENTITY: Any thing that we draw in the AutoCAD is known as an entity e.g. Line, Circle, and Point etc.

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Defaults and Entering Values: Defaults are displayed at the command line in angle brackets such as these <>. Defaults may be accepted by pushing the RETURN key or space bar, or they may be overridden by entering different values or information. Other command options are separated by forward slashes and displayed with their key letters in upper case characters. If you prefer, you can type the entire option key name, but you only need to type the character(s) displayed in the upper case. Numerical data and coordinates i.e. X, Y, Z coordinates can also be typed.

Transparent Commands: Some commands can be used transparently, while you are in the middle of other commands. To do so, an apostrophe must precede the command name, like zoom. Transparent commands wont work while you are using TEXT, DTEXT, ATTDEF, SKETCH, PLOT, PRPLOT, VPOINT, DVIEW or DIM commands. You cant use transparent commands if the drawing requires regeneration.

Positioning Tools (Drawing Aids): Positioning tools are drawing aids which are used for locating specific points on a drafting sheet or part. Every one wants to develop accurate graphic representations of parts or projects. In AutoCAD the part can now be drawn to the accuracy of fourteen decimal positions. To maintain this kind of accuracy, AutoCAD offers some very precise positioning tools. These are Ortho, Grid, and Snap.

ORTHO: ORTHO constrains your drawing lines, ploy lines, and traces to horizontal and vertical lines. Ortho is a toggle, and the default setting is off i.e. ON/OFF <OFF>. F8 is the toggle key for ortho off and on.

GRID: Grid is a drawing aid that displays dots at any user-defined increment. It helps you to keep the space you are working in and the size of your drawing entities in perspective. Grid dynamically toggles off and on, as well as accepts numeric values. The default settings are 0.000 and off. The grid is a drafting aid that assists you with locating positions or distances on the drawing screen. The grid can be set at equal X-Y spacing or at an aspect ratio i.e. different X-Y spacing. F7 is the toggle key for grid off and on.

SNAP: Snap lets you move the crosshairs at any defined increment. This command is dynamic. You can constantly modify the increment value and turn the setting on and off. The default setting is 1.000 and off.

Shaukat Ali Shah, UET Peshawar

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With snap on and equal to your grid spacing, your cursor will only move from one grid dot to another grid dot. This helps you to quickly and accurately locate a position on the drawing. You can set snap to any spacing, aspect ratio, rotation, or style (isometric or normal), as well as on or off. snap may be also be toggled transparently. F9 is the toggle key for snap off and on.

The User Coordinate System Icon (UCSICON): The UCS icon marker graphically displays the origin and viewing plane of the current UCS. The default setting for the icon is on. When you first enter the drawing editor, the UCSICON is shown at the lower left of the screen. This indicates the orientation of the current coordinate display. In any coordinate system, you may specify points with Cartesian coordinates (X, Y, Z axis distance from the 0, 0, 0 base) like or with polar coordinates (distance and angle from 0, 0 in the X, Y plane only) like 2<45 i.e. 2 units at 45 degrees.

Absolute Coordinates: The absolute coordinate values may be specified in the X,Y or X,Y,Z axis directions e.g. to draw a line starting from the origin point to a point which is 4 units in the positive X direction and 5 units in the positive Y direction, the specified coordinates will be (0,0) and (4,5) Format: x, y

Relative Coordinates: The relative Cartesian coordinates by preceding the coordinate value with the @ (at) symbol. This tells AutoCAD to interpret the value as an offset relative to the last point entered, not relative to 0,0. For example, once you have established a lines starting point, you locate the endpoint relative to the start point like @ 2,0. This would draw a 2 unit long line in the X direction with no Y offset. Format: @ x, y

Polar Coordinates: Polar coordinates are always specified by their distance and angle, relative to the origin point in case of absolute values or relative to the last defined point in case of relative coordinates. Format: 5 < 30 @ 6 < 90 (Absolute coordinates) (Relative coordinates)

In first case the resulting point will be placed at a distance of 5 units from the origin point and will be at an angle of 30 degrees with the horizontal. While in the second case the next point will be at distance 6 units and at an angle 90 from the last defined point.

Shaukat Ali Shah, UET Peshawar

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AutoCAD Commands:

Controlling the Screen Display with Zoom and Pan: As drawings become larger and more detailed, you will need to manipulate the magnification and locations of drawings on the screen. Two commands that perform these operations are PAN and ZOOM.

ZOOM: The ZOOM command magnifies (zooms in) or shrinks (zooms out) the display in the current view port. It does not physically change the size of the drawing, but lets you view a small part of the drawing in detail, or look at a greater part with less detail. Entering a number for magnification is considered an absolute value in drawing units. Placing an X after the value defines the magnification relative to the current display. ZOOM magnifies or reduces any part of an active view port. Zooms are generally used to increase the viewing resolution of drawings. It is easier to draw or edit specific entities when a part of the drawing is magnified. We can zoom in the following ways:

Number NumberX Zoom All Zoom Extents Zoom Window

Zooms to a specified scale, relative to the ZOOM ALL view Zooms to a specified scale, relative to the current view port Displays the entire drawing or limits, whichever is larger Displays the entire drawing a large as possible, ignoring limits Displays the rectangular area defined by two diagonally opposite corner points. Once you pick the first corner of the window, you will find a box attached to the cursor. Drag the box to enclose the portion of the drawing to be magnified, then pick the second corner

Zoom Center Zoom Left Zoom Previous Zoom Dynamic

Zoom relative to a center point and view height Zooms relative to a user-selected left corner point and view height Restores the previous zoom. It can be repeated up to ten views back Interactively displays the entire drawing as you choose a window to zoom to

The Zoom Dynamic interactively magnifies or reduces any part of the drawing, using three boxes and an hourglass to que you for input. The view port temporarily redraws to show the extents of the entire drawing. The four corner markers indicate the currently generated area within which you can pan and zoom with out regeneration. The fix solid box is the current view box. Use the movable solid new view box to show where you want to go. It is initially sized and located to duplicate the current view box. When the X displays at the center of the new view box, you can drag its position. When an arrow displays at the side of the view port, you can drag its size. It always resizes in proportion to the view port. You can switch between the X to move and the arrow to resize b clicking you pick button.

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PAN: Pan lets you scroll around the screen without altering the current zoom ratio. It is similar to repositioning paper on a drafting board to access a different drawing part. You do not physically move entities or change your drawing limits; you move your display window across your drawing. PAN is a transparent command. The default setting provides a displacement in relative coordinates. If we think of the view port as a window into the drawing, think of PAN as moving the drawing around behind that window. We can move the drawing diagonally, sideways, up, or down while maintaining the current zoom magnification. The pan command uses the displacement value between two points. You can enter the points from the keyboard or pick them with the pointing device. The first point of displacement is where you move the drawing from and the second point of displacement is where you move the drawing to. The cursor trails a line from the first point, showing the pan path, as you pick the second.

LINE: Line lets you draw straight line segments. You can enter 2D or 3D points by entering a From point and a series of To Pints. Entering C closes a series, U undoes the last segment, and Return (Enter key) at the To Point prompt ends the command and at the From point prompt continues the previous line or arc.

Shaukat Ali Shah, UET Peshawar

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