Introduction to AutoCAD 2021

In this chapter, you will learn about:

 AutoCAD user interface

 Customizing user interface

Introduction
AutoCAD is legendary software in the world of Computer Aided Designing (CAD). It has completed 38 years by
the 2020. If you are a new user of this software, then the time you spend on learning this software will be a wise
investment. If you have used previous versions of AutoCAD, you will be able to learn the new enhancements. I
welcome you to learn AutoCAD using this book as it provides step-by-step examples to learn various commands
and techniques.

System Requirements
The following are system requirements for running AutoCAD smoothly on your system.

 Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 or Windows 8

 Processor:
 Recommended: Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon™ 64 processor
 RAM:

 32-bit: 2 GB

 64-bit: 4 GB

 Display Resolution:

 1024 x 768 display resolution with True Color

 Disc Space: 6.0 GB

Starting AutoCAD
To start AutoCAD 2016, double-click the AutoCAD 2016 icon on your Desktop. Alternatively, click Start >
AutoCAD 2016 > AutoCAD 2016, as shown.
AutoCAD User Interface
When you double-click the AutoCAD 2016 icon on the desktop, the initial screen of AutoCAD 2016 will get
displayed, as shown.
Click on the Start Drawing under Get Started area of the initial screen to open a drawing file. The drawing file
consists of a drawing window, ribbon, menu bar, toolbars, command line, and other screen components,
depending on the workspace that you have selected. Note that for the better visibility, we have changed its color
which will be discussed further in this chapter.

Note: In the above figure, we have changed the theme and display colors for the better visibility. The
procedure of changing of colors in AutoCAD is discussed next.

Changing the Color Theme in AutoCAD

AutoCAD 2021 is available in two different color themes: Dark and Light. This control the color for interface
elements such as the Status Bar, Title Bar, Ribbon Bar, Palettes, and the Application Menu. You can change the
color theme by using the Options dialog box.
 Click the right mouse button in the drawing area to display the shortcut menu, as shown.
 Select Options from the shortcut menu to display the Options dialog box, as shown.
 Click on the Display tab of the dialog box and select the required option from the Color theme drop-down, as
shown.
 Next, click on the OK button of the dialog box to apply changes and exit it, as shown.
 Tip: You can also display the Options dialog box after clicking on the Option button from the Application
Menu, as shown below.

Similarly, you can change background color from the Options dialog box, following the steps given below:
 Click on the Colors button of the Options dialog box to display the Drawing Window Colors dialog box, as
shown.
 Select the White or required color from the Color drop-down of the dialog box, as shown.
 Now click on the Apply & Close button to apply the changes and exit the dialog box, as shown.
 Next, click on the OK button of the Options dialog box to exit it.
Similarly, to specify colors of elements in the main application window, you can select the required option from
the Drawing Window Colors dialog box, as shown above.

Workspaces in AutoCAD
There are three workspaces available in AutoCAD: Drafting & Annotation, 3D Basics, and 3D Modeling. By default,
the Drafting & Annotation workspace is activated. You can create 2D drawings in this workspace. You can also
activate other workspaces by using the Workspace drop-down on the top-left corner or the Workspace Switching
menu on the lower-right corner of the window.

Drafting & Annotation Workspace

This workspace has all the tools to create a 2D drawing. It has a ribbon located at the top of the screen. The
ribbon is arranged in a hierarchy of tabs, panels, and tools. Panels such as Draw, Modify, and Layers consist of
tools which are grouped based on their usage. Panels in turn are grouped into various tabs. For example, the
panels such as Draw, Modify, are Layers are located in the Home tab.
3D Basics and 3D Modeling Workspaces
These workspaces are used to create 3D models. You will learn more about these workspaces in Chapter 12. The
other components of the user Interface are discussed next.

Application Menu
The Application Menu appears when you click on the icon located at the top left corner of the window. The
Application Menu consists of a list of self-explanatory menus. You can see a list of recently opened documents or
a list of currently opened documents by clicking the Recent Documents and Open Documents buttons,
respectively. The Search Bar is used to search for any command. You can type any keyword in the search bar and
find a list of commands related to it.

Quick Access Toolbar

This is located at the top left corner of the window. It consists of commonly used commands such as New, Save,
Open, Save As, and so on.
File tabs
Files tabs are located below the ribbon. You can switch between different drawing files by using the file tabs.
Also, you can easily open a new file by using the + button.

Drawing Window
Drawing window is the blank space located below the file tabs. You can draw objects and create 3D graphics in
the drawing window. The top left corner of the drawing window has In-Canvas Controls. Using these controls,
you can set the orientation and display style of the model.

ViewCube
The ViewCube allows you to navigate in the 3D Modeling and 2D drafting environments. Using the ViewCube,
you can set the orientation of the model. For example, you can select the top face of the ViewCube to set the
orientation to Top. You can click the corner points to set the view to Isometric.

Navigation Bar
The Navigation Bar contains navigation tools such as Steering wheel, Pan, Zoom, Orbit, and ShowMotion.
 Command line
The command line is located below the drawing window. It is very easy to execute a command using the
command line. You can just type the first letter of a command and it lists all the commands starting with that
letter. This makes you to invoke commands very easily and increases your productivity.

Also, the command line displays the current state of the drawing. It displays various prompts while working with
any command. These prompts are series of steps needed to successfully execute a command. For example, when
you invoke the LINE command, the command line displays a prompt, “Specify the first point”. You need to click
in the drawing window to specify the first point of the line. After specifying the first point, the prompt, “Specify
next point or [Undo]:” appears. Now, you need to specify the next point of the line. It is recommended that you
should always have a look at the command line to know the next step while executing a command.

Status Bar
Status Bar is located at the bottom of the AutoCAD window. It contains many buttons which help you to create a
drawing very easily. You can turn ON or OFF these buttons just by clicking on them. Some buttons are hidden by
default. To display the missing buttons on the status bar, click on the Customization button available at
the bottom right corner and select the options from the menu.

Menu Bar
In AutoCAD, Menu Bar is not displayed by default. However, you can display the Menu Bar in other workspaces
by clicking on the down-arrow located at the right side of the Quick Access Toolbar and selecting the Show Menu
Bar option. The Menu Bar is located at the top of the window just below the title bar. It contains various menus
such as File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Tools, Draw, Dimensions, Modify, and so on. Clicking on any of the word
on the Menu Bar displays a menu. The menu contains various tools and options. There are also sub-options
available on the menu. These sub-options are displayed if you click on an option with an arrow. If you click on an
option with (…), a dialog box will be displayed.
Changing the display of the Ribbon
You can change the display of the ribbon by clicking the arrow button located at the top of it. The ribbon can be
displayed in three different modes as shown below.

Dialog Boxes and Palettes

Dialog boxes and Palettes are part of AutoCAD user interface. Using a dialog box or a palette, you can easily
specify many settings and options. Examples of dialog boxes and palettes are a shown below.
Tool Palettes
Tool Palettes provide you with another way of selecting tools and placing objects. You can display Tool Palettes
by clicking View > Palettes > Tool Palettes on the ribbon. A Tool Palette is similar to a palette except that it has
many palettes grouped in the form of tabs, as shown below. You can select tools from the Tool Palettes as well
as drag and place objects (blocks) into the drawing. You can also create a new Tool Palette and add frequently
used tools and objects to it.
Shortcut Menus
Shortcut Menus are displayed when you right-click in the drawing window. AutoCAD provides various shortcut
menus in order to help you access tools and options very easily and quickly. There are various types of` shortcut
menus available in AutoCAD. Some of them are discussed next.

Default menu
This shortcut menu is displayed whenever you right-click in the drawing window without invoking any command
or selecting any object.

Edit Shortcut menu

This shortcut menu is displayed when you select an object from the drawing window and right-click. It consists of
editing and selection options.

Command Mode shortcut menu

This shortcut menu is displayed when you select a command and right-click. It displays options depending upon
the selected command. The shortcut menu below shows the options related to the CIRCLE command.

Grip shortcut menu

This shortcut menu is displayed when you select a grip of an object, move the cursor and right-click. It displays
various operations that can be performed using grip.
Starting a New Drawing
You can start an AutoCAD document by using the Get Started section or by using the Select template dialog box.

Get Section on the Initial Screen

To start a new drawing, click CREATE at the bottom of the initial screen, and then select a template from Get
Started > Templates drop-down, as shown.
The Select Template dialog box
To start a new drawing, click the New button on anyone of the following:

• Quick Access Toolbar

• Application Menu

The Select Template dialog box appears when you click the New button. In this dialog box, select the acad.dwt
(inch units) or acadiso.dwt (metric units) template for creating a 2D drawing. Select the acad3D.dwt or
acadiso3D.dwt template for creating 3D models.