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AutoCAD® 2020
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Beyond the Basics

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Learning Guide
Mixed Units - 1st Edition
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Cover Page
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Authorized Publisher
 ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®
AutoCAD® 2020
Beyond the Basics
Mixed Units - 1st Edition
Prepared and produced by:

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ASCENT Center for Technical Knowledge
630 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 175
Charlottesville, VA 22911

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866-527-2368

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www.ASCENTed.com

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Lead Contributor: Renu Muthoo
Copyright

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ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge is a division of Rand Worldwide, Inc., providing custom
developed knowledge products and services for leading engineering software applications. ASCENT is
focused on specializing in the creation of education programs that incorporate the best of classroom
learning and technology-based training offerings.

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We welcome any comments you may have regarding this guide, or any of our products. To contact us
please email: [email protected].

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© ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge, 2019
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All rights reserved. No part of this guide may be reproduced in any form by any photographic, electronic,
mechanical or other means or used in any information storage and retrieval system without the written
permission of ASCENT, a division of Rand Worldwide, Inc.
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The following are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the
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USA and other countries: 123D, 3ds Max, Alias, ATC, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD, Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, Autodesk
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123D, Autodesk Homestyler, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk MapGuide, Autodesk Streamline, AutoLISP, AutoSketch,
AutoSnap, AutoTrack, Backburner, Backdraft, Beast, BIM 360, Burn, Buzzsaw, CADmep, CAiCE, CAMduct, Civil 3D,
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DWG TrueConvert, DWG TrueView, DWGX, DXF, Ecotect, Ember, ESTmep, FABmep, Face Robot, FBX, Fempro, Fire,
Flame, Flare, Flint, ForceEffect, FormIt 360, Freewheel, Fusion 360, Glue, Green Building Studio, Heidi, Homestyler,
HumanIK, i-drop, ImageModeler, Incinerator, Inferno, InfraWorks, Instructables, Instructables (stylized robot design/logo),
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Plastics Insight, Moldflow, Moondust, MotionBuilder, Movimento, MPA (design/logo), MPA, MPI (design/logo), MPX
(design/logo), MPX, Mudbox, Navisworks, ObjectARX, ObjectDBX, Opticore, P9, Pier 9, Pixlr, Pixlr-o-matic,
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Productstream, Publisher 360, RasterDWG, RealDWG, ReCap, ReCap 360, Remote, Revit LT, Revit, RiverCAD, Robot,
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NASTRAN is a registered trademark of the National Aeronautics Space Administration.
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All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
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General Disclaimer:
Notwithstanding any language to the contrary, nothing contained herein constitutes nor is intended to constitute an offer,
inducement, promise, or contract of any kind. The data contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not
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represented to be error free. ASCENT, its agents and employees, expressly disclaim any liability for any damages, losses
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expenses. No consequential damages can be sought against ASCENT or Rand Worldwide, Inc. for the use of these
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The information contained herein is intended to be of general interest to you and is provided "as is", and it does not
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AS-ACD2001-BTB1MU-E // IS-ACD2001-BTB1MU-E
 C o n t e n ts

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Preface ........................................................................................................... vii

In this Guide ................................................................................................... ix

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Practice Files ................................................................................................ xiii

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Chapter 1: Working Effectively with AutoCAD .......................................... 1-1
e EN1.1 Creating a Custom Workspace ...................................................... 1-2
Docking and Hiding Palettes ............................................................. 1-4
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Setting Up the Ribbon ....................................................................... 1-5
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Practice 1a Setting Up Workspaces ................................................... 1-11

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1.2 Using the Keyboard Effectively ................................................... 1-13

Command Aliases ........................................................................... 1-14
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Shortcut Keys.................................................................................. 1-16

Function Keys ................................................................................. 1-16
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Practice 1b Using the Keyboard Effectively ...................................... 1-17

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1.3 Object Creation, Selection, and Visibility ................................... 1-18

Object Creation ............................................................................... 1-18
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Selecting Similar Objects ................................................................ 1-18

Object Selection Cycling ................................................................. 1-20
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Object Visibility................................................................................ 1-20

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Setting Transparency ...................................................................... 1-22

Practice 1c Object Creation, Selection, and Visibility ...................... 1-25
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1.4 Working in Multiple Drawings...................................................... 1-27

File Tabs ......................................................................................... 1-27
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Selecting Drawings in the Application Menu ................................... 1-30

1.5 Copying and Pasting Between Drawings ................................... 1-32
Match Properties Across Drawings ................................................. 1-33
Practice 1d Working in Multiple Drawings......................................... 1-34
1.6 Using Grips Effectively................................................................. 1-37
Changing the Base Point ................................................................ 1-38
Copying with Grips .......................................................................... 1-38

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® i

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Rotate and Scale with the Reference Option .................................. 1-39

Stretching Multiple Objects ............................................................. 1-40
Grip Settings ................................................................................... 1-40
Practice 1e Using Grips Effectively .................................................... 1-42
1.7 Additional Layer Tools ................................................................. 1-43

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Changing Object Layer States ........................................................ 1-43
Isolating Layers ............................................................................... 1-45

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Changing an Object’s Layer............................................................ 1-46

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Modifying Layers ............................................................................. 1-47
Layer Walk ...................................................................................... 1-48

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Practice 1f Layer Tools ........................................................................ 1-51

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Chapter Review Questions................................................................... 1-53
Command Summary ............................................................................. 1-55

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Chapter 2: Accurate Positioning ................................................................. 2-1

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2.1 Coordinate Entry ............................................................................. 2-2
e EN Absolute Cartesian Coordinates (X,Y) .............................................. 2-2
Relative Cartesian Coordinates (@X,Y)............................................ 2-2
Relative Polar Coordinates (@Distance< Angle) .............................. 2-4
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Notes on Coordinate Entry................................................................ 2-5
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Practice 2a Drawing Using Coordinate Entry ...................................... 2-7

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2.2 Locating Points with Tracking ....................................................... 2-8

Object Snap Tracking Review........................................................... 2-8
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Temporary Track Point..................................................................... 2-8

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Practice 2b Locating Points with Tracking (Mechanical) ................. 2-10

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Practice 2c Locating Points with Tracking (Architectural)............... 2-12

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2.3 Construction Lines ....................................................................... 2-14

Construction Lines ......................................................................... 2-14
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Rays ................................................................................................ 2-15

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Practice 2d Construction Lines .......................................................... 2-16

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2.4 Placing Reference Points ............................................................. 2-18

Creating Groups of Points............................................................... 2-19
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Practice 2e Placing Points................................................................... 2-21

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Chapter Review Questions................................................................... 2-23

Command Summary ............................................................................. 2-25

Chapter 3: Projects: Productivity Tools ..................................................... 3-1

3.1 Schematic Project: Purifier Unit .................................................... 3-2
3.2 Mechanical Project: 2 Views .......................................................... 3-4
3.3 Architectural/Civil Project: Formal Garden .................................. 3-5

ii © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Contents

3.4 Mechanical Project: Cover Plate.................................................... 3-6

3.5 Architectural Project: Addition ...................................................... 3-7
3.6 Mechanical Project: Block.............................................................. 3-8
3.7 Mechanical Project: Plate............................................................... 3-9

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Chapter 4: Parametric Drawing ................................................................... 4-1

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4.1 Working with Constraints............................................................... 4-2

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4.2 Geometric Constraints ................................................................... 4-3
Auto Constraining Objects ................................................................ 4-3

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Specifying Geometric Constraints..................................................... 4-4

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Constraint Bars ................................................................................. 4-9
Modifying Geometrical Constraints ................................................. 4-10
Deleting Constraints........................................................................ 4-10

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Constraint Settings.......................................................................... 4-11

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4.3 Dimensional Constraints.............................................................. 4-12

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Modifying Dimensional Constraints................................................. 4-16
e EN Formulas in Constraints .................................................................. 4-17
Practice 4a Working with Constraints................................................ 4-19
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Chapter Review Questions................................................................... 4-29
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Command Summary ............................................................................. 4-31

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Chapter 5: Working with Blocks.................................................................. 5-1

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5.1 Creating Blocks............................................................................... 5-2

Creating Single Named Objects........................................................ 5-2
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Block Settings ................................................................................... 5-3

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Creating Drawing Files from Objects (WBlock)................................. 5-5

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5.2 Editing Blocks ................................................................................. 5-7

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Practice 5a Create and Edit Blocks .................................................... 5-10

5.3 Removing Unused Elements........................................................ 5-16
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Practice 5b Purging.............................................................................. 5-19

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5.4 Adding Blocks to Tool Palettes ................................................... 5-21

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5.5 Modifying Tool Properties in Tool Palettes ................................ 5-24

Modifying Tool Properties ............................................................... 5-24
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Redefining Blocks in Tool Palettes.................................................. 5-26

Practice 5c Modifying Tool Properties ............................................... 5-27
Chapter Review Questions................................................................... 5-30
Command Summary ............................................................................. 5-32

Chapter 6: Projects: Creating and Organizing Blocks .............................. 6-1

6.1 Mechanical Project: Control Panel ................................................ 6-2

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® iii

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

6.2 Architectural Project: Furniture Layout ........................................ 6-4

6.3 Civil Project: Utility Layout ............................................................ 6-6

Chapter 7: Creating Templates.................................................................... 7-1

7.1 Why Use Templates? ...................................................................... 7-2

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Drawing Standards............................................................................ 7-3
7.2 Controlling Units Display ............................................................... 7-5

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Drawing Limits................................................................................... 7-8

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7.3 Creating New Layers....................................................................... 7-9

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Layer Properties Manager................................................................. 7-9

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Other Layer Options........................................................................ 7-14
7.4 Adding Standard Layouts to Templates ..................................... 7-16
Working in the Page Setup Manager .............................................. 7-16

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Setting Up Layouts to Use in a Template........................................ 7-21

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7.5 Saving Templates.......................................................................... 7-22

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Practice 7a Saving a Template............................................................ 7-24
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Chapter Review Questions................................................................... 7-30
Command Summary ............................................................................. 7-31
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Chapter 8: Working with Layouts................................................................ 8-1

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8.1 Creating and Using Named Views ................................................. 8-2

8.2 Advanced Viewport Options .......................................................... 8-5
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Creating Viewports from Named Views ............................................ 8-5

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Clipping Viewports ............................................................................ 8-9

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8.3 Layer Overrides in Viewports ...................................................... 8-10

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Overriding Layer Properties in Viewports........................................ 8-10

Freezing Layers in Viewports.......................................................... 8-12
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Practice 8a Viewports and Named Views........................................... 8-13

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8.4 Annotative Scale Features ........................................................... 8-19

Modifying Annotative Object Scales................................................ 8-20
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Practice 8b Annotative Scale Features .............................................. 8-22

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Chapter Review Questions................................................................... 8-25

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Command Summary ............................................................................. 8-26

Chapter 9: Annotation Styles ...................................................................... 9-1

9.1 Creating Text Styles........................................................................ 9-2
Practice 9a Creating and Using Text Styles ........................................ 9-5
9.2 Creating Dimension Styles............................................................. 9-6
Modifying Dimension Styles .............................................................. 9-8
Creating Dimension Sub-Styles ...................................................... 9-14

iv © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Contents

Practice 9b Creating Dimension Styles (Architectural) .................... 9-16

Practice 9c Dimension Styles (Mechanical)....................................... 9-19
9.3 Creating Multileader Styles .......................................................... 9-22
Practice 9d Creating Multileader Styles ............................................. 9-27

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Chapter Review Questions................................................................... 9-29
Command Summary ............................................................................. 9-31

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Chapter 10: Projects: Drawing Setup and Utilities .................................. 10-1

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10.1 Interiors Project............................................................................. 10-2

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10.2 Mechanical/Schematic Project..................................................... 10-3
10.3 Civil/Map Project ........................................................................... 10-4

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10.4 Mechanical Project: Dimension Styles ....................................... 10-5

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Chapter 11: External References .............................................................. 11-1

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11.1 Attaching External References .................................................... 11-2
e EN External References Palette ........................................................... 11-4
11.2 Modifying External References.................................................. 11-11
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Opening Reference Files .............................................................. 11-11
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Detaching and Unloading Reference Files.................................... 11-13

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Clipping Reference Files ............................................................... 11-14

Modifying References ................................................................... 11-16
Reference File Properties ............................................................. 11-18
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DWF Specific Adjustments............................................................ 11-20

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11.3 Xref Specific Information............................................................ 11-21

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Attachments vs. Overlays ............................................................. 11-21

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Xref Layers.................................................................................... 11-22

Binding Drawing Reference Files.................................................. 11-26
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Binding Drawing Reference File Components .............................. 11-27

Demand Loading........................................................................... 11-28
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Practice 11a Attaching External References ................................... 11-29

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Chapter Review Questions................................................................. 11-37

Command Summary ........................................................................... 11-39
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Chapter 12: Projects: Drawing .................................................................. 12-1

12.1 D-sized Title Block (36x24)........................................................... 12-2
12.2 Mechanical Project: Drill Press Base .......................................... 12-4
12.3 Architectural Project: Office Tower........................................... 12-10
12.4 P&ID Project: Oil Lubrication System ....................................... 12-17
12.5 Civil Project: Warehouse Site .................................................... 12-20

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® v

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Appendix A: Optional Topics ......................................................................A-1

A.1 Using QuickCalc..............................................................................A-2
A.2 Additional Zoom Commands .........................................................A-4
A.3 Additional Text Tools......................................................................A-5

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Creating Single Line Text.................................................................. A-5
Editing Single Line Text .................................................................... A-6

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Justify Text ........................................................................................ A-6
Scale Text ......................................................................................... A-7

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Model Space Text and Paper Space Text ........................................ A-8

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Convert Text to Mtext........................................................................ A-8

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A.4 Additional Dimensioning Tools ...................................................A-10
Dimension Style Manager ............................................................... A-10
Inspection Dimensions .................................................................... A-11

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A.5 Creating Boundaries and Regions ..............................................A-13
Creating Boundaries ....................................................................... A-13

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Working with Regions ..................................................................... A-15
e EN Combining Regions......................................................................... A-16
A.6 Modifying Length ..........................................................................A-18
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Chapter Review Questions...................................................................A-19
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Command Summary .............................................................................A-21

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Appendix B: Skills Assessment ..................................................................B-1

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Appendix C: AutoCAD Certification Exam Objectives..............................C-1

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Index ...................................................................................................... Index-1

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vi © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Preface

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The AutoCAD® 2020: Beyond the Basics guide is designed for those using
AutoCAD® 2020 with a Windows operating system. This guide is not designed for
the AutoCAD for Mac software.

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The objective of AutoCAD® 2020: Beyond the Basics is to enable you to create,
modify, and work with a 2D drawing in the AutoCAD software.

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The AutoCAD® 2020: Beyond the Basics guide continues on from the topics
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covered in the AutoCAD® 2020: Essentials guide. It covers more sophisticated
techniques that extend your mastery of the software. For example, here you go
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beyond the basic skill of using a template to understand the process of setting up
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a template, creating annotation styles, and how to work with external references.
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You learn such skills as:

• Using more advanced editing and construction techniques.
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• Adding parametric constraints to objects.

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• Creating local and global blocks.

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• Setting up layers, styles, and templates.

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• Attaching External References.

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Prerequisites
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• Access to the 2020 version of the software. The practices and files included
with this guide might not be compatible with prior versions.
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• A working knowledge of basic design/drafting procedures and terminology.

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• A working knowledge of your operating system.

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Note on Software Setup

This guide assumes a standard installation of the software using the default
preferences during installation. Lectures and practices use the standard software
templates and default options for the Content Libraries.

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® vii

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Students and Educators can Access Free Autodesk Software and

Resources
Autodesk challenges you to get started with free educational licenses for
professional software and creativity apps used by millions of architects,

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engineers, designers, and hobbyists today. Bring Autodesk software into your
classroom, studio, or workshop to learn, teach, and explore real-world design
challenges the way professionals do.

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Get started today - register at the Autodesk Education Community and download
one of the many Autodesk software applications available.

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Visit www.autodesk.com/education/home/

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Note: Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user
license and services agreement that accompanies the software. The software is

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for personal use for education purposes and is not intended for classroom or lab

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use.

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Lead Contributor: Renu Muthoo
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Renu uses her instructional design training to develop courseware for AutoCAD
and AutoCAD vertical products, Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Showcase and
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various other Autodesk software products. She has worked with Autodesk
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products for the past 20 years with a main focus on design visualization software.
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Renu holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and started her career
as a Instructional Designer/Author where she co-authored a number of Autodesk
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3ds Max and AutoCAD books, some of which were translated into other
languages for a wide audience reach. In her next role as a Technical Specialist at
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a 3D visualization company, Renu used 3ds Max in real-world scenarios on a daily

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basis. There, she developed customized 3D web planner solutions to create

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specialized 3D models with photorealistic texturing and lighting to produce high

quality renderings.
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Renu Muthoo has been the Lead Contributor for AutoCAD: Beyond the Basics
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since 2015.
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viii © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 In th is Gu id e

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The following images highlight some of the features that can be found in this
guide.

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Practice Files
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The Practice Files page tells

you how to download and install
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the practice files that are

provided with this guide.
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Link to the practice files

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Chapters
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Each chapter begins with a brief

introduction and a list of the
chapter’s Learning Objectives.
Learning Objectives for
the chapter

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® ix

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

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Instructional Content
Each chapter is split into a
series of sections of

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instructional content on specific

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topics. These lectures include
the descriptions, step-by-step

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Side notes procedures, figures, hints, and
Side notes are hints or information you need to achieve

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additional information for the chapter's Learning
the current topic. Objectives.

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Practice Objectives
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Practices
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Practices enable you to use the

software to perform a hands-on
review of a topic.
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Some practices require you to

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use prepared practice files,

which can be downloaded from
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the link found on the Practice

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Files page.
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Chapter Review Questions

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Chapter review questions,

located at the end of each
chapter, enable you to review
the key concepts and learning
objectives of the chapter.

x © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 In this Guide

Command Summary
The Command Summary is

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located at the end of each
chapter. It contains a list of the
software commands that are

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used throughout the chapter,

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and provides information on
where the command is found in

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the software.

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e EN Autodesk Certification Exam
Appendix
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This appendix includes a list of
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the topics and objectives for the

Autodesk Certification exams,
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and the chapter and section in

which the relevant content can
be found.
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© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® xi

 Sa

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AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

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 Chapter

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Working Effectively with

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AutoCAD

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In this chapter, you learn how to use the ribbon and workspaces, keyboard
shortcuts, copy and paste methods to duplicate information between drawings,
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and how to edit objects with advanced grip techniques, and use additional layer
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tools.
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Learning Objectives in this Chapter

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• Create and save a custom workspace.

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• Set up the ribbon to dock and hide palettes.

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• Start commands using various methods.

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• Create new objects of the same type and properties as a selected object.
• Cycle through overlapping objects and select one.
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• Control the transparency and visibility of objects in a drawing.

• Switch between multiple open drawings using various interface components and commands.
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• Copy, move, and paste information from one drawing to another.

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• Modify layers and objects using grips.

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© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–1

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

1.1 Creating a Custom

Workspace
As you learn the various ways of working with the AutoCAD®

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software, you need to set up your personal workspace. You can
specify how the ribbon tabs and panels display, which tool

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palettes you want open, and how you want them to be
organized, as shown in the example in Figure 1–1. When you

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are finished, you can create a new workspace to save the

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arrangement.

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To to maximize the
drawing window, you

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can temporarily toggle

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off the ribbon and all of
the tool palettes in the

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Status Bar by clicking
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(Clean screen). The
Quick Access Toolbar,
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Command Line, and
Status Bar are still Figure 1–1
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displayed.
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• (Workspaces) controls the display of ribbon tabs and

panels, tool palettes and other palettes, and even the
Command Line. You can select from the default workspaces,
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as shown in Figure 1–2, or create a custom version.

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Figure 1–2
• The Drafting & Annotation workspace is the default. When
you set it to be current, the default ribbon tabs and panels
display. Any palettes and toolbars that you have displayed
are closed and the Design Feed palette displays. Most of the
tools you need can be found in the ribbon.

1–2 © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

How To: Create a Custom Workspace

1. Set up the ribbon as you want it to be displayed.
2. Open the tool palettes that you want to include in the
workspace, close any that you do not want to display, and
arrange them in the drawing window.

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3. In the Status Bar, expand the Workspace drop-down list, and
select Save Current As....

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4. In the Save Workspace dialog box, type a name for the new
workspace and click Save, as shown in Figure 1–3.

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Figure 1–3

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e EN • The new workspace becomes the current workspace.

• Selecting Workspace Settings opens a dialog box in which

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you can control the display and order of the workspaces in
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the list and add separator lines between names in the list, as
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shown in Figure 1–4. You also have the option of saving or

not saving any changes to the workspace.
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Figure 1–4

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–3

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Docking and Many floating windows and palettes, such as Properties,

DesignCenter, and Tool Palettes, can remain open at all times.
Hiding Palettes You can dock and hide or anchor them to one side of the drawing
window.

Allow Docking should To dock a palette, select the title bar and drag it to one side of the

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be selected for Anchor drawing window until it docks. Alternatively, you can right-click
Left < and Anchor on the title bar and select Anchor Left < or Anchor Right >.

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Right > to be available.

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• To hide the docked palette, click to minimize it, as shown in
Figure 1–5.

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Figure 1–5
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• When palettes are hidden, you can display either Text only
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or Icons only, as shown in Figure 1–6.

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Figure 1–6
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• When the palette is hidden, hover the cursor over the title bar
Al ple

to display the full palette, as shown in Figure 1–7.

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Figure 1–7

1–4 © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

• To keep a palette open, click (Auto-hide).

• To close a palette, click (Close).

• All of the palettes in the AutoCAD software are grouped

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together in the View tab>Palettes panel, as shown in
Figure 1–8.

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Open palettes are

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highlighted in blue.

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Figure 1–8

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Setting Up
e EN The ribbon is the primary place for starting commands. The
ribbon can be docked to the top or side of the drawing window, or
the Ribbon be kept floating. You can control how much of the ribbon
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displays, and you can drag and drop the ribbon panels to the
drawing window or in a ribbon tab.
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• Some of the panels contain extra tools. Click to expand

the panel and display them. Click (Pin) to keep the
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expanded panel displayed in the drawing window, as shown

in Figure 1–9.
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Figure 1–9

• Some of the ribbon panels display in their bottom right

corners, which enables you to open a related dialog box.

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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Displaying the Ribbon

You can also expand When the ribbon is docked at the top of the interface, you can
and select the control how it displays by clicking to the right of the tabs. By
required minimize default, it is set to Cycle through All, which cycles through the

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option. display settings of Minimize to Tabs, Minimize to Panel Titles,
and Minimize to Panel Buttons, as shown in Figure 1–10.

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Minimize to Tabs
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Minimize to Panel Titles

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Minimize to Panel Buttons

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Figure 1–10
• When the ribbon is minimized to tabs, select the tab to
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display the panels.

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

• When the ribbon is minimized to panel titles, hover the cursor

over the title to display the commands, as shown in
Figure 1–11.

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Figure 1–11

Relocating Individual Panels

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e EN Ribbon panels can be moved around. You can drag and drop
panels to reorder them in a specific ribbon tab (but not between
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different tabs). You can also float an individual panel in the
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drawing window, as shown in Figure 1–12.

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Figure 1–12
• To float an individual panel, drag and drop it on the drawing
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window. To re-dock the panel, drag it back to the ribbon.

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• If you have a dual-monitor setup, individual panels can be

moved to the second monitor and left open.
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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Docking/Floating the Ribbon

If you want to increase your drawing window space, you can float
the ribbon or dock it to one side of the drawing window, as shown
in Figure 1–13. The ribbon then becomes like other palettes that

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you can hide and display.

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Figure 1–13
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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

How To: Float and Dock the Entire Ribbon

1. Right-click in an empty space in the ribbon and select
Undock, as shown in Figure 1–14.

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Alternatively, you can 2. The ribbon floats in the drawing window. If you want the
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right-click on the title bar ribbon to be docked to the side, click and hold on the ribbon
and select Anchor title and drag it to the side of the drawing window.
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Left < or Anchor

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Right >. • When the ribbon is docked, you can click (as shown in
Figure 1–15) to hide the palette.
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Figure 1–15

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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Hint: Tool Palette Groups

You can associate a tool palette group with a tab, so that when
you right-click on the tab and select Show Related Tool
Palette Group, the tool palette group automatically opens. You

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can select from existing groups, as shown in Figure 1–16. This
makes it easy to open the tool palettes you want to use.

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Figure 1–16
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• If a tab does not have a related tool palette group, the Show
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Related Tool Palette Group option is grayed out in the

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shortcut menu.

• When you select Show Related Tool Palette Group, it

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opens the Tool Palette window, if it was not already open.

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

Practice 1a Setting Up Workspaces

Practice Objective
• Create a custom workspace and switch between workspaces.

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In this practice, you will create a custom workspace, as shown in

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Figure 1–17, and note the effects of switching workspaces.

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Figure 1–17
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1. Start a new drawing based on the default AutoCAD template.

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2. In the Status Bar, expand (Workspaces) and select 3D

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Modeling. Note all the tabs and panels.

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3. Change back to the Drafting & Annotation workspace. What

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are the differences?

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4. Open the Properties palette (View tab>Palettes panel or

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press <Ctrl>+<1>). Right-click on the title bar and select

Allow Docking and Anchor Left < to dock it to the left side
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of the drawing window.

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5. If the palette is in the maximize position, hover the cursor on

the title bar near the top of the docked palette and click to
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minimize the palette.

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6. Right-click on the palette title bar and select Icons only.

7. Open DesignCenter (press <Ctrl>+<2>) and Tool Palettes

(press <Ctrl>+<3>). Dock and minimize them to the same
side of the drawing window as the Properties palette.

8. In any ribbon tab, click on the panel bar (for example, the
Modify panel in the Home tab) and drag it onto the drawing
window.

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–11

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Cycle through the 9. Set the ribbon to Minimize to Panel Titles by using .
different options using
. 10. In the Status Bar, expand (Workspaces) and select
Save Current As....

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11. In the Save Workspace dialog box, type My 2D Workspace
and click Save. In the Status Bar, expand

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(Workspaces) and note that the new workspace is
listed there and is currently active.

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12. Switch to the Drafting & Annotation workspace. What are
the differences? Finish by selecting the workspace you want

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to work with.

13. Close the file. Do not save it. Your workspace is still available

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to use in other drawing files.

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

1.2 Using the Keyboard

Effectively
The Command Line and Dynamic Input use information typed on

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the keyboard, as shown in Figure 1–18. For example, you can
start the Line command by typing the command name (line) or

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shortcut (L). When you press <Enter> to start the command, its
options display in the Command Line. To use one of the options,

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you can type the capitalized letter(s) of the option or select it in

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the Command Line.

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Figure 1–18
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• All AutoCAD command can be typed in the Command Line or

The (Dynamic Input)
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Dynamic Input.
should be toggled on
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(Status bar) for the • To use typed commands, you must know the exact command
command prompts to name and spelling. For example, the command to draw
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display at the cursor polylines is pline, not polyline.

location.
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• You can start typing the first letters of a command name and
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then select the command in the AutoComplete list.

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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

• You can quickly search for additional information about a

command or system variable in the AutoComplete
suggestion list. Hover the cursor over the required item in the
list. A tooltip displays, providing a description of the
command’s functions, as shown in Figure 1–19. The

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Autocomplete list in the Command line also provides the
Search in Help or Search on Internet icons, as shown in
Figure 1–19.

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Figure 1–19
• You can easily reuse any command or number that you have
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typed. Press <Up Arrow> or <Down Arrow> to scroll through

your typed input, and press <Enter> when you reach the
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command that you want to reuse.

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• You can quickly select from a list of the most recent

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commands by expanding in the Command Line.

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• You can also copy and paste information from the Text
Window to the Command Line. Highlight the text, right-click,
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and select Paste to Cmdline.

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Command Rather than typing the entire command name, you can use
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abbreviations called command aliases. The following aliases are

Aliases some of the standard ones in the AutoCAD software.

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

• To locate most commands, try typing the first character of the

Click (Command command, then try the first two, and then try the first three.
Aliases) in the Express Other commands use various letters.
Tools tab>Tools panel to
define or modify Alias Command Alias Command

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command aliases in the
file acad.pgp. A Arc LT Linetype

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AA Area M Move

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AR Array MI Mirror

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B Block MS Mspace

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BR Break O Offset

C Circle OS Osnap

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CHA Chamfer PE Pedit (Polyline Edit)

CO, CP Copy PL Pline (Polyline)

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e EN D

DAL
Dimstyle

Dimaligned
PR

PS
Properties

Pspace
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DAN Dimangular PU Purge
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DBA Dimbaseline R Redraw

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DCO Dimcontinue RA Redrawall

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DDI Dimdiameter RE Regen

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DI Distance REC Rectang (Rectangle)

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DIV Divide REN Rename

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DLI Dimlinear RO Rotate

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DRA Dimradius S Stretch

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E Erase SC Scale
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ED Textedit (ddedit) SP Spell

EX Extend T, MT Mtext (Multiline Text)

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F Fillet TR Trim
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H Hatch U Undo

HE Hatchedit V View

I Insert W Wblock

L Line X Explode

LA Layer Z Zoom

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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Shortcut Keys Another quick way to launch commands or change settings is to

use the shortcut keys (also called accelerator keys). Many of
these keystrokes follow the Microsoft Office standard.

To use the default shortcut keys, press <Ctrl> and a letter or

number. You can also define customized key combinations in the

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Customize dialog box.

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+<A> Select All +<N> New drawing

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+<B> Snap on/off +<O> Open drawing

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+<C> Copy to the Clipboard +<P> Plot

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+<D> Dynamic UCS on/off +<R> Cycles layout viewports

+<E> Toggle Isometric plane +<S> Save

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+<F> Object Snap on/off +<T> Tablet on/off

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+<G> Grid on/off +<U> Polar on/off
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+<K> Create Hyperlink +<W> Selection cycling on/off

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+<L> Ortho on/off +<X> Cut to clipboard

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+<1> Properties palette on/off +<7> Markup Set Manager on/off

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+<2> DesignCenter on/off +<8> QuickCalc on/off

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+<3> Tool Palettes on/off +<9> Command Line on/off

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+<4> Sheet Sets on/off +<0> (zero) Cleanscreen on/off

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Function Keys Function keys control most of the toggles for the drafting settings
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and several other features.

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<F1> Help <F7> Grid on/off

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<F2> Text Screen <F8> Ortho on/off

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<F3> Osnap on/off <F9> Snap on/off

<F4> 3DOsnap on/off <F10> Polar on/off

<F5> Isoplane switch <F11> Osnap Tracking on/off

<F6> Dynamic UCS on/off <F12> Dynamic Input on/off

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

Practice 1b Using the Keyboard Effectively

Practice Objectives
• Draw objects using keyboard commands.

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• Use various techniques for entering information.

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In this practice, you will draw lines, circles, and trim objects (as
shown in Figure 1–20) using keyboard commands. You will

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select commands in the AutoComplete list using partial keyboard

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commands. You will also be able to toggle Command Line on
and off using keyboard commands.

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Figure 1–20
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1. Start a new drawing based on Mech-Inches.dwt, which is

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located in your practice files folder.

Al ple

2. Draw the objects shown in Figure 1–20. Use the command

aliases L (Line), C (Circle), and TR (Trim) to start the
m

required commands. Type the distances using Polar Tracking

and Dynamic Input.
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3. Set the layer to Dimensions. To test the AutoComplete list of

Verify that (Dynamic
command names, type D and select DIM (the shortcut for
Input) is toggled on so
Dimension command) in the list. This starts the command.
that command prompts
Dimension the objects. If the Select Annotation Scale dialog
display at the
box opens, set the Scale to 1:1 and click OK.
crosshairs.
4. Save the drawing as Jig.dwg and close it.

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–17

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

1.3 Object Creation, Selection,

and Visibility

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Object Creation You can use Add Selected to create new objects of the same
type and properties as the selected object. Select an object,

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right-click, and select Add Selected as shown in Figure 1–21.
The AutoCAD software launches the command that was used to

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create the selected object and sets some of the properties (such

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as the layer or color) to be the same as the original object.

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Figure 1–21
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Selecting You can use Select Similar (as shown in Figure 1–21) to select
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an object and automatically select other objects of the same type

Similar Objects and properties at the same time. For example, if you select a red
d

rectangle on the layer Walls, all of the other red rectangles on

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the layer Walls are also selected.

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How To: Select Similar Objects

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1. Select an object.
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2. Right-click and select Select Similar. All of the other objects

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that match the settings are selected.

• If you select more than one object and then use Select
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Similar, all of the objects that match the properties of all of

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the selected objects are selected.

How To: Modify Select Similar Settings

1. Without any object selected, at the Command Line, type or
dynamically input selectsimilar.
2. At the Select objects prompt, press <Down arrow> and select
Settings.

1–18 © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

3. In the Select Similar Settings dialog box (shown in

Figure 1–22), select the property types by which you want to
filter the selection set.

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Figure 1–22
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• The properties that are set in the dialog box are used to filter
the selection process. The objects that are selected have the
same properties.
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• If you clear the Name option in the dialog box, the command
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looks for all of the objects that match the properties no matter
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what type they are.

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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Object If you need to select an object in a location in which many

objects overlap, you can use Object Selection Cycling. When it
Selection is toggled on, and you hover the cursor over an area where
Cycling some objects are overlapping, displays, indicating that more
than one object can be selected. Clicking on the object displays

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the Selection dialog box where you can select an object from the
list, as shown in Figure 1–23.

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In the Status Bar,

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(Selection Cycling)

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must be toggled on for

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this to work.

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Figure 1–23
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How To: Use Object Selection Cycling

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1. In the Status Bar, toggle on (Selection Cycling).

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2. Hover the cursor over some overlapping objects close to

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where the objects intersect. displays, indicating that there

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are overlapping objects.

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3. Click to open the Selection dialog box.

4. Select the object that you want to use.
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Object Visibility You can control whether objects are displayed or hidden in the
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drawing. The Isolate Objects, Hide Objects, and End Object

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Isolation commands control this display.

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Isolate Objects Select the objects that you want to isolate, right-click,
and select Isolate>Isolate Objects. The selected
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objects display and all other objects are hidden.

Hide Objects Select the objects that you want to hide, right-click, and
select Isolate>Hide Objects. The selected objects are
hidden.

End Object Right-click anywhere in the drawing window and select

Isolation Isolate>End Object Isolation. All hidden objects
display.

1–20 © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

• If a drawing contains hidden or isolated objects,

(Unisolate Objects) (highlighted) displays in the Status

Bar.

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• If a drawing does not contain hidden objects, (Isolate
Objects) displays in the Status Bar.

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How To: Isolate or Hide Objects

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You can also use 1. Right-click and select Isolate>Isolate Objects or Hide
Objects, as shown in Figure 1–24.

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(Isolate/Hide
/Unisolate) in the Status
Bar.

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Figure 1–24
2. If you selected objects before starting the command, the
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objects are hidden or isolated. If you did not select objects,

you are prompted to select them.
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3. To display the isolated or hidden objects, right-click and

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select Isolate>End Object Isolation or click on

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. (Unisolate Objects) in the Status bar, and select End

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Object Isolation.
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• If objects are already hidden or isolated, you can add

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additional objects to the isolated selection set by clicking on

the (Unisolate Objects) in the Status bar, and selecting

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Isolate Additional Objects, as shown in Figure 1–25.

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Figure 1–25

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–21

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Setting Transparency can be applied to objects similar to applying other

properties (such as Layer, Color, or Linetype). It can be set
Transparency individually, ByLayer, or ByBlock. It is very useful when
displaying hatches, as shown in Figure 1–26.

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Transparency = 0 Transparency = 50
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Figure 1–26
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• Transparency values vary from 0 (least transparent) to 90

(most transparent).
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• When you are creating or editing objects, you can set the
d

transparency in the Home tab>expanded Properties panel.

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You can also expand the Transparency drop-down list and

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select one of the options shown in Figure 1–27.

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Figure 1–27

1–22 © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

• Transparency is also available in the Properties palette when

objects have been selected.

• You can toggle (Transparency) on and off in the Status

Bar.

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• Transparency can be set in the Layer Properties Manager, as

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shown in Figure 1–28. It can also be modified by layer in a
viewport.

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Figure 1–28
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• Transparency can be set for Match Properties, as shown in

Figure 1–29, and for Quick Select and Filter.
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Figure 1–29

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–23

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

• To plot transparent objects, select the Plot transparency

option shown in Figure 1–30, in either the Plot dialog box or
Page Setup. This is toggled off by default because the file
must be converted into raster for the transparency to plot.

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Figure 1–30
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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

Practice 1c Object Creation, Selection, and

Visibility
Practice Objective

n. nly
• Modify the display of objects using various commands and options.

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In this practice, you will modify the way objects display in a

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drawing using Select Similar, Hide Objects, and Isolate

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Objects. You will also modify the display of objects using the
Transparency option.

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Task 1 - Use selection and visibility tools.

tly r
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1. Open Office-Plan1-A.dwg from your practice files folder.

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2. In the Status bar, display (Isolate Objects).
e EN 3. Select one of the double sided corner desks on the layer
Cubicles.
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Some of the objects you 4. Right-click and select Select Similar. All of the double sided
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will be selecting corner desks are selected, as shown in Figure 1–31. Press
throughout this task <Esc> to exit the command.
might not be blocks, but
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instead consist of lines,

circles, etc. Therefore,
d

you might need to

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perform the Select

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Similar command
several times.
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Figure 1–31

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–25

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

There are two different 5. Select one of the red desks and one of the red chairs and use
types of red desks in the Select Similar. All of the chairs are selected along with a few
drawing. desks (which are similar to the original one you selected).

6. Right-click and select Isolate>Hide Objects. Note how the

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(Unisolate Objects) is highlighted.

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You can also click on 7. Use Select Similar to select the rest of the furniture (red
colored objects). Hide them as well.

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(Unisolate Objects)

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and select Hide 8. How would you make it easier to select all of the furniture in
Objects. the drawing?

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9. Right-click and select Isolate>End Object Isolation to
unhide the objects.

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Task 2 - Modify object transparency.

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e EN 1. Toggle on the layer Hatching.

2. In the Status bar, toggle on (Transparency).

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3. Select one of the hatches.

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4. In the Hatch Editor contextual tab>Properties panel, for the

Hatch Transparency option, use the slider bar to lighten the
transparency of the hatch.
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5. Open the Layer Properties Manager.

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6. In the Hatching row, set the Transparency value to 50, as

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shown in Figure 1–32.

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Figure 1–32

7. All of the other hatches are lightened because they are all on
the same layer, and each of their Transparency options is set
to ByLayer.

8. Save and close the drawing.

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

1.4 Working in Multiple Drawings

You can open multiple drawings in the same session of the
AutoCAD software, as shown in Figure 1–33. This can make it
easier to copy information across drawings.

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Having many complex

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drawings open can
affect system

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performance.

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Figure 1–33
By default, the Start tab always displays as the first active tab
and clicking it will display the initial Start window. The Start

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window contains tools to create new drawings, open existing
ones, open the recently used files, and many other file and help

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related options.
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File Tabs The File tabs along the top of the drawing window are an easy
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way to switch between open drawing files and the initial Start
window.
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Switching Windows
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The File tabs along the top of the drawing window display the
names of the open drawings.
d
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• The names of all of the open drawings display as tabs in the

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File Tabs bar. The currently active drawing tab displays with a
white background.
op ro

• They display in the order in which they are opened, but you
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can change their order by dragging and moving the tabs.

Al ple

• You can cycle between the drawings by pressing

<Ctrl>+<Tab> or by selecting the required file tab in the File
m

Tabs bar. The selected drawing tab opens the drawing and
makes it active.
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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

• You can also open and make another drawing active by

clicking (Switch Windows) in the View tab>Interface

panel, and then selecting the drawing from the list, as shown
in Figure 1–34.

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Figure 1–34

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• If you want all of the open drawings to display together, click

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(Tile Horizontally), (Tile Vertically), or (Cascade).
e EN • When there are too many open drawing files and not enough
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room for all of the File tabs to fit along the top, displays at
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the end of the File tabs. Click to display a complete list of

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open files, as shown in Figure 1–35 and select the required

filename to switch to that open drawing file.
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d
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m
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Figure 1–35

Appearance and Preview

The File tabs include some visual tools.

• A drawing file that is open as read-only is indicated by a lock

on its tab.

1–28 © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

• A drawing file that has been modified since its last save is
indicated by an asterisk on its tab.

• To display a preview image of the model tab and layouts of

any other open drawing, hover the cursor over its filename
tab. Then hover the cursor over one of the previews to

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highlight it, as shown in Figure 1–36. Select the preview to
switch to that model or layout.

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Figure 1–36
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• When a preview image is highlighted, the icons at the top of

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the preview enable you to (Plot) or (Publish) it.

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Shortcut Menu
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You can right-click on any File tab to display a menu (shown in

Figure 1–37), with various File commands including options to
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create, open, save, and close files.

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Al ple
m
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Figure 1–37

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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

The Start tab always • You can use Close All to close all of the drawings except the
persists in the Tab bar Start tab, or select Close All Other Drawings to close all of
and never closes. the drawings except the Start tab and the drawing where you
opened the shortcut menu from.

• Other options include copying the full file path to the clipboard

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and opening the file location in Windows Explorer.

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Toggle File Tabs On/Off

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By default, the File Tabs bar displays along the top of the
drawing window. However, when maximum screen real estate is

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more important, you can hide the File Tabs bar by toggling the
(File Tabs) off in the View tab>Interface panel, as shown in

tly r
Figure 1–38.

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When File Tabs is

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toggled off, you can use
e EN
Switch Windows to
switch between open
drawing files.
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Figure 1–38
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Selecting The Application Menu provides access to all of the already saved
open drawings and recently used drawings, as shown in
an b

Drawings in Figure 1–39.

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the Application
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Menu
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Al ple
m
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Figure 1–39
• When you hover the cursor over a drawing name, a
thumbnail of the drawing displays. Hover the cursor a while
longer to display more information about the file.

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

• Click (Recent Documents) to display a list of recently

used drawing files or click (Open Documents) to display

a list of open drawing files.

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• You can customize the way the drawings are listed and
displayed, as shown in Figure 1–40.

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Figure 1–40
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• Expand (Close) in the Application Menu to close either
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the current drawing or all open drawings, as shown in
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Figure 1–41.
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Figure 1–41
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Al ple
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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

1.5 Copying and Pasting

Between Drawings
The AutoCAD Copy You can place information on the clipboard by copying or cutting

n. nly
command does not it from a document. You can then paste the information from the
work between drawings. clipboard into the same document or into a different one, even in

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a different application. To copy, move and paste information
between drawings you must use the Windows Copy command.

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• Cut, Copy, and Paste are available in the Home tab>
Clipboard panel and in the shortcut menu.

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Cut to the Clipboard

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As with other Windows applications, (Cut Clip) removes the

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selected objects from their file and places them on the clipboard.
e EN Copy to the Clipboard
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When using the Windows Copy command, you have the
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following options:
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Copy Copies the selected objects to the clipboard, using the

Clip lower left corner of the bounding box of all of the objects
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as the base point. <Ctrl>+<C> starts the command.

d

Copy In the shortcut menu, expand Clipboard and select Copy

ng e

with with Base Point. It enables you to select the base point
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Base after the objects have been selected. This option provides
Point more control over the location of the objects when they
are placed. The base point is only significant when the
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objects are pasted into the AutoCAD software.

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NA Copy Type copylink at the Command Line. It copies the

Link contents of the current view to the clipboard.
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Paste from the Clipboard

m
Sa

When using the Windows Paste command, you have the

following options:

Paste Prompts you to select a location for the base

point at which it then places the objects.
<Ctrl>+<V> starts the command.

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

Paste as Block The copied objects are placed as a block. The

AutoCAD software gives the block an arbitrary
name. This option is only available if the objects
on the clipboard are AutoCAD objects.

Paste to Places the objects at the same coordinates as in

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Original the drawing from which they were taken. This
Coordinates option is only available if the objects on the
clipboard are AutoCAD objects.

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Paste as Creates a hyperlink of an object, text or file
Hyperlink already copied to clipboard, and then associates

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it with another object.

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Paste Special Enables you to control the format of an already
copied data while pasting it into the active
drawing.

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Drag-and-Drop Copying

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When two drawing windows are open, you can also
e EN drag-and-drop objects to copy them from one drawing into
another.
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How To: Copy using Drag-and-Drop

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1. Without a command running, select the objects that you want

to copy.
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2. Hold the mouse button with the cursor on the objects (do not
select a grip).
d

3. Drag the objects into the other drawing window and release
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the mouse button.

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Match (Match Properties) works across drawings. You can select

lc p

an object in one drawing and apply its properties to objects in

Properties another drawing.
Al ple

Across
Match Properties works for general object properties, such as
Drawings
m

color, linetype, and lineweight, and for the formatting of some

specific object types, including text, dimensions, hatching, and
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tables.

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–33

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Practice 1d Working in Multiple Drawings

Practice Objectives
• Switch between drawings and display them side by side.

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• Copy and paste objects between drawings.

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In this practice, you will switch between multiple drawings using
File tabs and Open Documents. You will display drawings side by

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side using the Tile Vertical command. You will then copy and

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paste objects between the drawings, as shown in Figure 1–42.

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d

Figure 1–42
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Use <Ctrl> to select 1. Open Floor Plan-A.dwg and Bighouse1-A.dwg from your
yi vid

both files in the Select practice files folder. Close any other open drawings.
File dialog box and click
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Open. 2. If not already active, in the Files tab bar, select the
Bighouse1-A.dwg tab. Then, hover the cursor over the
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Floor Plan-A.dwg tab to display the preview images of the

Al ple

drawing and its layouts, as shown in Figure 1–43. Select the

Model preview to switch to Floor Plan-A.dwg with its Model
tab active.
m
Sa

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

Depending on the
selection of the
filenames in the Select
File dialog box, your
drawing tabs might be

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reversed.

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Figure 1–43

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3. Thaw the layer Text.

tly r
4. In the Application Menu, click (Open Documents) and

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display the thumbnails of the two drawings by hovering the
cursor over them, as shown in Figure 1–44. Select

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Bighouse1-A.dwg to make that drawing current.
e EN
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Figure 1–44
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5. In the View tab>Interface panel, click (Tile Vertically) to

display the drawings side-by-side. Minimize the Start window
lc p

display and click (Tile Vertically) again so that only the

Al ple

two drawings fill the drawing window.

m

6. In Bighouse1-A.dwg, zoom into the Master Bedroom (upper

Sa

left corner of floorplan) and start the (Match Properties)

command (Home tab>Properties panel). Select the text
MASTER BEDROOM as the source object. Note that the
cursor changes into a brush with a little square.

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–35

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Your drawing might be 7. Click inside Floor Plan-A.dwg once to activate it (the brush
in a reverse position cursor is now available in Floor Plan-A.dwg). Select each of
than that shown in the text labels in Floor Plan-A.dwg as the destination object,
Figure 1–45. as shown in Figure 1–45. Press <Enter> to exit the
command. The text properties are matched in both drawings.

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Figure 1–45
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8. Make Bighouse1-A.dwg the active window by clicking in it.

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Right-click and select Clipboard>Copy with Base Point.

For the basepoint, select the corner of the walls behind the
fireplace (in the master bedroom). Select the fireplace (they
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might be separate objects) and the short diagonal walls that

d

frame it, as shown in Figure 1–46. Press <Enter>.

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Basepoint
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Figure 1–46
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9. In the File Tabs bar, select the Floor Plan-A tab to switch to it
and make it active. Right-click and select Clipboard>Paste.
For the insertion point, select the top left corner of the larger
bedroom to paste the fireplace there.

10. Close both drawings. Do not save changes.

11. Maximize the Start window.

1–36 © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

1.6 Using Grips Effectively

Grips are a very powerful tool and using them helps you to
quickly and easily modify drawings. You can increase the
effectiveness of using grips by changing the base point, copying

n. nly
with grips, using the reference option, stretching multiple objects
(as shown in Figure 1–47), and modifying grip settings.

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Figure 1–47
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• If (Dynamic Input) is on, dynamic dimensions (and if it is

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a multifunctional grip, a dynamic list of options) display when

you hover the cursor over a grip. Select one of the optional
an b

commands, such as Stretch, Lengthen, or Add Vertex.

d

• When you select a grip you can edit the dimensions to stretch
ng e

the object. Use <Tab> to highlight the dimension that you

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want to change.
op ro

• Depending on which grip is selected, the Stretch mode either

stretches or moves the object. Centers of circles and
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midpoints of lines move the objects. Standard blocks move

Al ple

because they cannot be stretched. Dynamic blocks have

special grips.
m

• Pressing <Enter> while a grip is hot, sequentially toggles

through Move, Rotate, Scale, Mirror, and then back to
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Stretch.

• To clear grips from objects, press <Esc> or right-click and

select Exit.

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–37

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Changing the The hot grip becomes the default base point for moving, rotating,
etc. To use a different base point, right-click and select Base
Base Point Point as shown in Figure 1–48 (or type B in the Command Line).
Select the new base point and continue with the command.

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Figure 1–48

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e EN
Copying with Use the Copy option with any of the grip editing modes to create
multiple copies while you move, rotate, etc.
Grips
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How To: Copy with Grips

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1. Select the objects and make one grip hot.

Holding <Ctrl> while 2. Right-click and select the editing mode (Stretch, Move,
an b

selecting the point for Rotate, etc.).

stretching, moving, 3. Select the Copy option in the shortcut menu or Command
d

rotating, etc., also starts Line.

ng e

the multiple copy mode. 4. Select (or type) the second point, rotation angle, mirror line,
yi vid

or scale factor.
op ro

• If you hold <Ctrl> while selecting the location for additional

copies, the new objects snap to the same spacing as the first
lc p

copy, as shown in Figure 1–49.

Al ple
m
Sa

Figure 1–49

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

Rotate and The Reference option enables you to select reference points in
your drawing to describe the rotation angle or scale factor.
Scale with the
Reference How To: Rotate and Scale with Grips and Reference
Option

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1. Select the objects that you want to rotate or scale.
2. Select the grip to be the base point for rotating or scaling.
3. Right-click and select Rotate or Scale.

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4. Right-click and select Reference.

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• For Rotate: Specify the reference angle by typing the

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angle or selecting two points. Specify the new angle by
typing the angle or selecting a second point. The first

fo rev
point of the new angle is the base point.
• For Scale: Specify the reference length by typing the
length or selecting two points. Specify the new length by

tly r
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typing the length or selecting a second point. The first
point of the new length is the base point.

st T
For example, you might want to straighten a rectangle that is
e EN rotated at an unknown angle, as shown in Figure 1–50. Select
the rectangle and then select the grip at point 1 as the base point
for rotation. Right-click and select Rotate and Reference. For
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the Reference angle, select the end points at 1 and 2 (this is the
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current angle of the object). For the New angle, type 0.

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Figure 1–50
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• The Reference option is also available with the regular

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Rotate and Scale commands.

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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Stretching In the Stretch mode, only hot grips or objects that contain hot
grips are stretched. You can make multiple grips hot by holding
Multiple <Shift> when selecting each grip, as shown in Figure 1–51.
Objects

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Figure 1–51

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How To: Stretch with Grips

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1. Select the objects that you want to stretch.
e EN 2. Hold <Shift> and select all of the grips that you want to move
using Stretch.
3. Release <Shift>.
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4. Select the grip that you want to use as a base point.
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5. Select the point that you want to use as the second point of
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displacement.

Grip Settings
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In the Options dialog box (expand the Application Menu and click
Options), in the Selection tab, there are several settings related
d

to grips, as shown in Figure 1–52.

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Figure 1–52

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

• Grip size enables you to control the size of the grip as it

displays in the drawing window.

• You can also change the grip colors by clicking Grip

Colors... and adjusting the values in the Grip Colors dialog
box, as shown in Figure 1–53.

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Figure 1–53
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In addition to grip size and color, you can set the following:
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Show grips Turns grips on or off globally.

Show grips in Controls whether grips only display on a block’s

blocks insertion point (off) or on all nested objects in the
an b

block (on). Normally it is easier to work with this option

d

off. This only applies to standard blocks. Dynamic

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blocks still display grips.

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Show grip tips Grip tips are not available in the basic AutoCAD
software, but can display for objects from software
such as the AutoCAD® Architecture software.
op ro

Show dynamic Controls whether a menu displays next to a dynamic

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grip menu grip.

Al ple

Allow Controls whether you can use <Ctrl> to cycle through

Ctrl+cycling the grip’s options.
m

behavior
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Show single grip Displays a single grip for an object group.

on groups

Show bounding Displays a bounding box around the extents of

box on groups grouped objects.

Object selection If you select more objects than the number set here,
limit for display grips do not display on them.
of grips

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–41

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Practice 1e Using Grips Effectively

Practice Objective
• Modify a drawing using grips.

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In this practice, you will use grips to edit the schematic drawing,

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as shown in Figure 1–54.

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Figure 1–54

1. Open Computer-I.dwg from your practice files folder.

an b

2. Use grips to add three, evenly spaced computers to

d

PRODUCTION. Use <Ctrl> when selecting the locations for

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the copies, to place them at even intervals.

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3. Use grips to stretch the red rectangle to include the new

computers. Use <Shift> to select more than one hot grip.
op ro
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4. Select the three, yellow polylines connecting the

ACCOUNTING computers to the hubs. Mirror and Copy the
Al ple

three polylines to the PRODUCTION computers using grips

and a base point at the midpoint of the middle hub.
m

• Hint: After selecting the three middle grips using <Shift>,

use the shortcut menu to select Mirror and hold <Ctrl> to
Sa

make mirrored copies. Select the three middle grips of the

mirrored copies, right-click and select Move to move
those to the PRODUCTION computers.

5. Use grips to manipulate the new lines so they match up with

the new computers.

6. Save and close the drawing.

1–42 © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

1.7 Additional Layer Tools

The additional layer commands in the Home tab>Layers panel,
can help you to work quickly with layers. They include
commands that enable you to select layers rather than their

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names, and to change their layer state or current status.

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Changing The commands to freeze, toggle off, lock, and unlock layers are

id w
the most basic of the additional layer commands. They can be
Object Layer

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accessed in the Home tab>Layers panel, as shown in
States Figure 1–55.

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Figure 1–55
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How To: Freeze or Turn Layers Off

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1. Start (Layer Freeze) or (Layer Off).

ng e

2. Select an object on the layer that you want to change. It

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changes automatically.
3. You can continue selecting objects on other layers as
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required.
4. Press <Enter> to finish the command.
lc p
Al ple

Two other commands are helpful with layer states:

• (Turn All Layers On)

m
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• (Thaw All Layers)

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–43

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Settings

In the Home Layer Freeze and Layer Off have settings for how blocks, Xrefs,
tab>extended Layers and Viewports respond to the commands. These settings remain
in effect until you change them.

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panel, use (VP
Freeze in All Viewports Block Sets the nesting level of a block or Xref:
except Current) to

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selection Block (default): Freezes or turns off the layer on which the
freeze a selected layer block was inserted. If it is part of an Xref, it freezes the layer

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in all other viewports of the object.
except the active one.

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Entity: Only freezes or turns off the layer in the block or Xref
that you actually select.

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None: Freezes or turns off the layer on which the block or
Xref was inserted.

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Viewports Sets the way the command responds when you are working

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in a Paper Space viewport.
VPFreeze (default): Only freezes or turns off the layer in the

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current viewport.
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drawing.
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How To: Lock or Unlock Layers

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1. Click (Layer Lock) or (Layer Unlock).

2. Select an object on the layer that you want to change. It
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changes automatically.
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• A small padlock icon displays when you hover the cursor over
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a locked layer, as shown in Figure 1–56.

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Al ple
m
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Figure 1–56

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

• Locked layers fade but are still displayed in the drawing. Use
the Locked layer fading slider in the extended Layers panel
to control how much the layers fade, as shown in
Figure 1–57.

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Figure 1–57

Isolating Layers

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(Layer Isolate) is similar to changing the layer state, but it

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locks and fades (or turns off) all of the objects in a drawing
EXCEPT those that are on the layers that you selected to isolate,

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as shown in Figure 1–58. When you have finished working with
e EN the isolated layers, you can return them to their original layer
state.
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d
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Figure 1–58
Al ple

How To: Isolate Layers

m

1. Click (Layer Isolate).

Sa

2. Select objects on the layer(s) in which you want to work.

3. Press <Enter>. All of the other layers are locked and faded.

• If you only select one layer to isolate and it is not the current
layer, it becomes current.

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–45

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

• The layers that are not selected to be isolated are either

locked and faded or toggled off. To change this, start the
Layer Isolate command, select Settings, and select the
required option, as shown in Figure 1–59.

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Figure 1–59

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• When you select Off you are prompted to set the way it works

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in Paper Space viewports. The Vpfreeze option freezes the
unisolated layers in the active viewport, and the Off option
turns the unisolated layers off in all of the viewports.

tly r
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How To: Unisolate Layers

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e EN 1. Click (Layer Unisolate).
2. All of the isolated layers are restored.
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• (Layer Previous) also restores layers that have been

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isolated and changes the current layer back to the original if

Layer Isolate was last used to change it.
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Changing an There are other ways of changing the layers of objects in a

d

Object’s Layer
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drawing including: (Change to Current Layer) and (Copy

yi vid

Objects to New Layer). These commands change an object’s

layer by selecting other objects.
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How To: Change to the Current Layer

lc p
Al ple

1. Click (Change to Current Layer).

2. Select the objects that you want to place on the current layer.
3. Press <Enter> to complete the command and note that the
m

objects are moved to the current layer.

Sa

How To: Copy an Object to a New Layer

This command creates new copies of selected objects and
places them on a new layer. You can then move the copies to a
new location while you are still in the command or leave them on
top of existing objects.

1–46 © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

1. Click (Copy Objects to New Layer).

2. Select the objects that you want to copy and press <Enter> to
complete the selection set.
3. Select an object on the destination layer or use the Name
option to open the Copy to Layer dialog box, in which you can

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select a layer name, as shown in Figure 1–60.

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Figure 1–60
4. Select a base point from which to copy. If you want the new
an b

copies to be on top of the originals, you can press <Enter> to

exit without moving the objects.
d

5. Select a second point to place the new objects on the

ng e

selected layer.
yi vid

• The new layer to which objects are going to be copied must

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exist for this command to be used.

lc p
Al ple

Modifying In the Home tab>extended Layers panel use (Layer Merge)

to move all of the objects on selected layers to a target layer and
Layers
m

then delete the selected layers. (Layer Delete) removes a

layer and any objects associated with that layer.
Sa

• The default response to the final prompt of Do you wish to

continue? for each of these commands is No. You must
specify Yes to complete the process.

© 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge® 1–47

 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

How To: Merge Layers

1. Click (Layer Merge).

2. Select an object on the layer that you want to merge. You can
select several layers before pressing <Enter> to continue.

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3. Select an object on the target layer.
4. A warning box opens, listing the layers that you are going to

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merge into the target layer. If you type Y for Yes, the objects
are moved to the target layer and the other layers are deleted

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from the drawing.

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How To: Delete Layers

1. Click (Layer Delete).

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2. Select an object on the layer that you want to delete. You can

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select several layers before pressing <Enter> to continue. If
you select multiple layers, the objects disappear from the

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drawing as you click them.
e EN 3. A warning box opens, listing the layers that you are going to
delete. If you type Y for Yes, the objects and layers are
deleted from the drawing.
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• If blocks are associated with the layer, they are redefined with
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objects from the deleted layer.

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Layer Walk (Layer Walk) provides an interface in which you can quickly
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display objects on specified layers and then modify them in a

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dialog box, as shown in Figure 1–61.

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Use this command to

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find out which layers the

objects display on and
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then use other

commands to move
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them to the correct

layer.
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Figure 1–61

1–48 © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

• You can either select from the list of layer names in the
LayerWalk dialog box or use (Select Objects) to select
objects in the drawing window.

• Use <Ctrl> and <Shift> or drag to select multiple layers.

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• Double-click on the name if you always want a layer to be

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displayed. An asterisk displays next to the name. You can
also right-click and select Hold Selection. You can release

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the hold layers individually or as a group by right-clicking and

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selecting Release Selection and Release All.

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• If a layer does not contain any objects, you can click Purge to
remove it from the drawing.

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• When you have finished working in the dialog box, you can

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display the layer setup in your drawing if you clear the
Restore on exit option. If it is selected, the modifications you

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made in the dialog box are not displayed in the drawing
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Filtering Layers
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You can use filters to select layers more quickly. Type

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information including a wildcard character (such as *) and press

<Enter> to only display the layer names that match the filter, as
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shown in Figure 1–62.

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All of the layers display

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if you clear the Filter

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option.
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Figure 1–62
• To save a filter, right-click in the Layer list and select Save
Current Filter. The filter is added to the drop-down list.

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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

• In the LayerWalk dialog box, right-click and select Save

Layer State to save the current selection of layers to be used
later in the Layer State Manager.

• In the LayerWalk dialog box, right-click and select Inspect…

to display the number of layers in the drawing, number of

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layers selected, and number of objects on the selected
layers, as shown in Figure 1–63.

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Figure 1–63
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1–50 © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®

 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

Practice 1f Layer Tools

Practice Objective
• Modify the layers using the additional layer commands.

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In this practice, you will freeze and toggle off layers, as shown in

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Figure 1–64, and then restore the layer states. You will isolate
and unisolate layers. You will use the Layer Walk and Layer

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Merge commands to determine whether any layers are incorrect

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in the drawing and then fix them as required.

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Figure 1–64

1. Open Bank-A.dwg from your practice files folder.

2. In the Home tab, expand and pin the Layers panel.

3. Practice freezing and toggling off layers using (Layer

Freeze) and (Layer Off).

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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

4. Restore the layer states using (Turn all Layers On) and

(Thaw All Layers).

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5. You can also try isolating layers using (Layer Isolate) and

(Layer Unisolate).

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6. Set the current layer to Electrical.

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7. Click (Layer Freeze). At the Select an object prompt,
press <Down Arrow> and select Settings>Block

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selection>Block from the down arrow menus. Select a door
to freeze and note what happens. All the doors disappear
from the drawing.

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8. Click (Thaw All Layers).

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9. Hover your cursor on one of the text in the drawing. Note that
e EN the text is on layer Walls.

10. Set the current layer to Text.

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11. Click (Change to Current Layer). Select the text and note
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how the color changes to blue, which is the color of the layer
Text. Select the rest of the text objects. Press <Enter> to
complete the command.
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d

12. Click (Layer Walk). In the LayerWalk dialog box, select

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Doors. All the objects on layer Doors are displayed with

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everything else disappearing. Similarly, select Furniture and

STAIRS to display the objects on each layer. Select the layer
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Walls first and then select the layer WALL. Note that the
walls in the drawing are on two different layers. Close the
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Layer Walk dialog box.

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13. Set layer 0 to be active. Click (Layer Merge) and select

an object on the layer Walls (top most horizontal wall of the
m

layout). Press <Enter>.

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14. Select an object on the layer WALL (a wall between the

rooms VICE PRES and PRES). Click Yes.

15. Expand the Layer Control in the Layers panel to verify that
the one of the wall layers is deleted and all the walls are on a
single layer.

16. Save and close the drawing.

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

Chapter Review Questions

1. What do Workspaces control?
a. The available tabs in the ribbon and the display of Tool

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Palettes.

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b. The settings in the Options dialog box.
c. The default template location.

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d. The drawings that are open in the AutoCAD software.

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2. bIf some objects are already hidden or isolated, you cannot
add additional objects to the isolated selection set.
a. True

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b. False

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3. How can you paste AutoCAD objects into a drawing at the
e EN same location as in the drawing from which they were
copied?
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a. Select Edit>Paste Special in the Application Menu.
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b. Right-click and select Paste to Original Coordinates.

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c. Right-click and select Paste as Block.

d. Select Edit>Paste Special in the Menu Browser.
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4. If you have multiple drawings open, how can you switch

d

between them? (Select all that apply.)

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a. Use Open to open the drawing again.

b. Press <Shift>+<Tab>.
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c. Use Application Menu>Open Documents.

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d. Use View tab>Interface panel, expanded Switch Windows

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drop-down list.
5. What is a function of the Layer Walk command?
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a. Toggle the visibility of layers on and off by selecting them

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in the LayerWalk dialog box.

b. Change the properties of a layer.
c. Change the layer on which an object is located.
d. Create new layers in the LayerWalk dialog box.

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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

6. When selecting an object and then a grip, which of the

following commands is started by default?
a. .Stretch
b. .Copy

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c. .Scale
d. .Move

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 Working Effectively with AutoCAD

Command Summary
Button Command Location
Clean Screen • Status Bar

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• Command Prompt: <Ctrl>+<0> (zero),
cleanscreenON or cleanscreenOFF
Command • Ribbon: Express Tools tab>Tools panel

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Aliases

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Workspace • Status Bar

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Switching • Command Prompt: wscurrent

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Clipboard
Copy • Ribbon: Home tab>Clipboard panel
• Shortcut Menu: Copy

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• Command Prompt: copyclip or

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<Ctrl>+<O>
Copy with • Shortcut Menu: Copy with Basepoint

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Base Point • Command Prompt: <Ctrl>+<Shift>+
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<C> or copybase
• Ribbon: Home tab>Clipboard panel
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• Shortcut Menu: Cut
• Command Prompt: <Ctrl>+<X>
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or cutclip
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Paste • Ribbon: Home tab>Clipboard panel

• Shortcut Menu: Paste
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• Command Prompt: <Ctrl>+<V> or

pasteclip
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Paste as • Ribbon: Home tab>Clipboard panel

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Block • Shortcut Menu: Paste as Block

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• Command Prompt: pasteblock

Paste to • Ribbon: Home tab>Clipboard panel
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Original • Shortcut Menu: Paste to Original

Coordinates Coordinates
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• Command Prompt: pasteorig

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Layer
Change to • Ribbon: Home tab>expanded Layers
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Current Layer panel

• Command Prompt: laycur
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Copy Objects • Ribbon: Home tab>expanded Layers

to New Layer panel
• Command Prompt: copytolayer
Layer Delete • Ribbon: Home tab>expanded Layers
panel
• Command Prompt: laydel
Layer Freeze • Ribbon: Home tab>Layers panel
• Command Prompt: layfrz

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 AutoCAD 2020: Beyond the Basics

Layer • Ribbon: Home tab>Layers panel

/ Isolate/Layer • Command Prompt: layiso or layuniso
Unisolate
VP Freeze in • Ribbon: Home tab>expanded Layers
All Viewports panel

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except • Command Prompt: layvpi
Current
Layer • Ribbon: Home tab>Layers panel

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/ Lock/Layer • Command Prompt: laylck or layulk
Unlock

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Layer Merge • Ribbon: Home tab>expanded Layers

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panel

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• Command Prompt: laymrg
Layer • Ribbon: Home tab>expanded Layers
Previous panel

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• Command Prompt: layerp

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Layer Off • Ribbon: Home tab>Layers panel
• Command Prompt: layoff

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Layer Walk • Ribbon: Home tab>expanded Layers
e EN panel
• Command Prompt: laywalk
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Thaw All • Ribbon: Home tab>Layers panel
Layers
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• Command Prompt: laythw

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Turn all • Ribbon: Home tab>Layers panel

Layers On • Command Prompt: layon
Window
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Cascade • Ribbon: View tab>Interface panel

d
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Switch • Ribbon: View tab>Interface panel

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Windows
Tile • Ribbon: View tab>Interface panel
Horizontally
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Tile Vertically • Ribbon: View tab>Interface panel

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1–56 © 2019, ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge®