AutoCAD shortcuts & hotkey guide

Toggle General Features

Ctrl+G Toggle Grid

Ctrl+E Cycle isometric planes
Ctrl+F Toggle running object snaps
Ctrl+H Toggle Pick Style
Ctrl+Shift+H Toggle Hide pallets
Ctrl+I Toggle Coords
Ctrl+Shift+I Toggle Infer Constraints

Manage Screen

Ctrl+0 (zero) Clean Screen

Ctrl+1 Property Palette
Ctrl+2 Design Center Palette
Ctrl+3 Tool Palette
Ctrl+4 Sheet Set Palette
Ctrl+6 DBConnect Manager
Ctrl+7 Markup Set Manager Palette
Ctrl+8 Quick Calc
Ctrl+9 Command Line

Manage Drawings

Ctrl+N New Drawing

Ctrl+S Save drawing
Ctrl+O Open drawing
Ctrl+P Plot dialog box
Ctrl+Tab Switch to next
Ctrl+Shift+Tab Switch to previous drawing
Ctrl+Page Up Switch to previous tab in current drawing
Ctrl+Page Down Switch to next tab in current drawing
Ctrl+Q Exit
Ctrl+Shift+S Save drawing as

Toggle Drawing Modes

F1 Display Help
F2 Toggle text screen
F3 Toggle object snap mode
F4 Toggle 3DOsnap
F5 Toggle Isoplane
F6 Toggle Dynamic UCS
F7 Toggle grid mode
F8 Toggle ortho mode
F9 Toggle snap mode
F10 Toggle polar mode
F11 Toggle object snap tracking
F12 Toggle dynamic input mode

Manage Workflow

Ctrl+A Select all objects

Ctrl+C Copy object
Ctrl+K Insert hyperlink
Ctrl+X Cut object
Ctrl+V Paste object
Ctrl+Shift+C Copy to clipboard with base point
Ctrl+Shift+V Paste data as block
Ctrl+Z Undo last action
Ctrl+Y Redo last action
Ctrl+[ Cancel current command (or ctrl+\)
ESC Cancel current command

A, B, C
A

A ARC / Creates an arc

ADCENTER / Manages and inserts content such as blocks, xrefs, and
ADC
hatch patterns
AREA / Calculates the area and perimeter of objects or of defined
AA
areas
AL ALIGN / Aligns objects with other objects in 2D and 3D
AP APPLOAD / Load Application
AR ARRAY / Creates multiple copies of objects in a pattern
ARR ACTRECORD / Starts the Action Recorder
ARM ACTUSERMESSAGE / Inserts a user message into an action macro
ARU ACTUSERINPUT / Pauses for user input in an action macro
ACTSTOP / Stops the Action Recorder and provides the option of
ARS
saving the recorded actions to an action macro file
ATTIPEDIT / Changes the textual content of an attribute within a
ATI
block
ATT ATTDEF / Redefines a block and updates associated attributes
ATE ATTEDIT / Changes attribute information in a block

B BLOCK / Creates a block definition from selected objects

BC BCLOSE / Closes the Block Editor
BE BEDIT / Opens the block definition in the Block Editor
HATCH / Fills an enclosed area or selected objects with a hatch
BH
pattern, solid fill, or gradient fill
BO BOUNDARY / Creates a region or a polyline from an enclosed area
BR BREAK / Breaks the selected object between two points
BS BSAVE / Saves the current block definition
BVSTATE / Creates, sets, or deletes a visibility state in a
BVS
dynamic block

C CIRCLE / Creates a circle

CAMERA / Sets a camera and target location to create and save a
CAM
3D perspective view of objects
CONSTRAINTBAR / A toolbar-like UI element that displays the
CBAR
available geometric constraints on an object
CH PROPERTIES / Controls properties of existing objects
CHA CHAMFER / Bevels the edges of objects
CHECKSTANDARDS / Checks the current drawing for standards
CHK
violations
CLI COMMANDLINE / Displays the Command Line window
COL COLOR / Sets the color for new objects
COPY / Copies objects a specified distance in a specified
CO
direction
CT CTABLESTYLE / Sets the name of the current table style
NAVVCUBE / Controls the visibility and display properties of the
CUBE
ViewCube tool
CYL CYLINDER / Creates a 3D solid cylinder

D, E, F
D

D DIMSTYLE / Creates and modifies dimension styles

DAN DIMANGULAR / Creates an angular dimension
DAR DIMARC / Creates an arc length dimension
DIMBASELINE / Creates a linear, angular, or ordinate dimension
DBA
from the baseline of the previous or selected dimension
DBC DBCONNECT / Provides an interface to external database tables
DIMCENTER / Creates the center mark or the centerlines of circles
DCE
and arcs
DIMCONTINUE / Creates a dimension that starts from an extension
DCO
line of a previously created dimension
DIMCONSTRAINT / Applies dimensional constraints to selected
DCON
objects or points on objects
DDA DIMDISASSOCIATE / Removes associativity from selected dimensions
DDI DIMDIAMETER / Creates a diameter dimension for a circle or an arc
DED DIMEDIT / Edits dimension text and extension lines
DI DIST / Measures the distance and angle between two points
DIVIDE / Creates evenly spaced point objects or blocks along the
DIV
length or perimeter of an object
DIMJOGLINE / Adds or removes a jog line on a linear or aligned
DJL
dimension
DJO DIMJOGGED / Creates jogged dimensions for circles and arcs
DL DATALINK / The Data Link dialog box is displayed
DATALINKUPDATE / Updates data to or from an established external
DLU
data link
DO DONUT / Creates a filled circle or a wide ring
DOR DIMORDINATE / Creates ordinate dimensions
DIMOVERRIDE / Controls overrides of system variables used in
DOV
selected dimensions
DR DRAWORDER / Changes the draw order of images and other objects
DRA DIMRADIUS / Creates a radius dimension for a circle or an arc
DIMREASSOCIATE / Associates or re-associates selected dimensions
DRE
to objects or points on objects
DRAWINGRECOVERY / Displays a list of drawing files that can be
DRM
recovered after a program or system failure
DSETTINGS / Sets grid and snap, polar and object snap tracking,
DS
object snap modes, Dynamic Input, and Quick Properties
DT TEXT / Creates a single-line text object
DVIEW / Defines parallel projection or perspective views by using
DV
a camera and target
DATAEXTRACTION / Extracts drawing data and merges data from an
DX
external source to a data extraction table or external file

E ERASE / Removes objects from a drawing

DDEDIT / Edits single-line text, dimension text, attribute
ED
definitions, and feature control frames
EL ELLIPSE / Creates an ellipse or an elliptical arc
EPDF EXPORTPDF / Exports drawing to PDF
ER EXTERNALREFERENCES / Opens the External References palette
EX EXTEND / Extends objects to meet the edges of other objects
EXIT QUIT / Exits the program
EXPORT / Saves the objects in a drawing to a different file
EXP
format
EXTRUDE / Extends the dimensions of a 2D object or 3D face into
EXT
3D space

F FILLET / Rounds and fillets the edges of objects

 FILTER / Creates a list of requirements that an object must meet
FI
to be included in a selection set
FSMODE / Creates a selection set of all objects that touch the
FS
selected object
FLATSHOT / Creates a 2D representation of all 3D objects based
FSHOT
on the current view

G, H, I
G

G GROUP / Creates and manages saved sets of objects called groups

GEOCONSTRAINT / Applies or persists geometric relationships
GCON
between objects or points on objects
GRADIENT / Fills an enclosed area or selected objects with a
GD
gradient fill
GEOGRAPHICLOCATION / Specifies the geographic location
GEO
information for a drawing file

HATCH / Fills an enclosed area or selected objects with a hatch

H
pattern, solid fill, or gradient fill
HE HATCHEDIT / Modifies an existing hatch or fill
HIDE / Regenerates a 3D wireframe model with hidden lines
HI
suppressed

I INSERT / Inserts a block or drawing into the current drawing

IMAGEADJUST / Controls the image display of the brightness,
IAD
contrast, and fade values of images
IAT IMAGEATTACH / Inserts a reference to an image file
IMAGECLIP / Crops the display of a selected image to a specified
ICL
boundary
ID ID / Displays the UCS coordinate values of a specified location
IM IMAGE / Displays the External References palette
IMPORT / Imports files of different formats into the current
IMP
drawing
INTERSECT / Creates a 3D solid, surface, or 2D region from
IN
overlapping solids, surfaces, or regions
INTERFERE / Creates a temporary 3D solid from the interferences
INF
between two sets of selected 3D solids
IO INSERTOBJ / Inserts a linked or embedded object

J, K, L
J

J JOIN / Joins similar objects to form a single, unbroken object

JOG DIMJOGGED / Creates jogged dimensions for circles and arcs

L LINE / Creates straight line segments

LA LAYER / Manages layers and layer properties
LAS LAYERSTATE / Saves, restores, and manages named layer states
LE QLEADER / Creates a leader and leader annotation
LENGTHEN / Changes the length of objects and the included angle
LEN
of arcs
MESHSMOOTHLESS / Decreases the level of smoothness for mesh
LESS
objects by one level
LI LIST / Displays property data for selected objects
LO LAYOUT / Creates and modifies drawing layout tabs
LT LINETYPE / Loads, sets, and modifies linetypes
LTSCALE / Changes the scale factor of linetypes for all objects
LTS
in a drawing
LWEIGHT / Sets the current lineweight, lineweight display
LW
options, and lineweight units

M, N, O
M

MOVE / Moves objects a specified distance in a specified

M
direction
MATCHPROP / Applies the properties of a selected object to other
MA
objects
ME MEASURE / Joins similar objects to form a single, unbroken object
MEASUREGEOM / Measures the distance, radius, angle, area, and
MEA
volume of selected objects or sequence of points
MI MIRROR / Creates a mirrored copy of selected objects
ML MLINE / Creates multiple parallel lines
MLA MLEADERALIGN / Aligns and spaces selected multileader objects
MLEADERCOLLECT / Organizes selected multileaders that contain
MLC blocks into rows or columns, and displays the result with a
single leader
MLD MLEADER / Creates a multileader object
MLEADEREDIT / Adds leader lines to, or removes leader lines from,
MLE
a multileader object
MLS MLEADERSTYLE / Creates and modifies multileader styles
MO PROPERTIES / Controls properties of existing objects
MESHSMOOTHMORE / Increases the level of smoothness for mesh
MORE
objects by one level
MS MSPACE / Switches from paper space to a model space viewport
MSM MARKUP / Opens the Markup Set Manager
MT MTEXT / Creates a multiline text object
MV MVIEW / Creates and controls layout viewports

GEOGRAPHICLOCATION / Specifies the geographic location

NORTH
information for a drawing file
NEWSHOT / Creates a named view with motion that is played back
NSHOT
when viewed with ShowMotion
NVIEW NEWVIEW / Creates a named view with no motion

OFFSET / Creates concentric circles, parallel lines, and

O
parallel curves
SURFOFFSET/ Creates a parallel surface or solid by setting
OFFSETSRF
an offset distance from a surface
OP OPTIONS / Customizes the program settings
ORBIT / 3DORBIT / Rotates the view in 3D space, but constrained to
3DO horizontal and vertical orbit only
OS OSNAP / Sets running object snap modes

P, Q, R
P

PAN / Adds a parameter with grips to a dynamic block

P
definition
PASTESPEC / Pastes objects from the Clipboard into the
PA
current drawing and controls the format of the data
PARAMETERS / Controls the associative parameters used in the
PAR
drawing
BPARAMETER / Adds a parameter with grips to a dynamic block
PARAM
definition
SURFPATCH / Creates a new surface by fitting a cap over a
PATCH
surface edge that forms a closed loop
POINTCLOUDATTACH / Inserts an indexed point cloud file into
PCATTACH
the current drawing
PE PEDIT / Edits polylines and 3D polygon meshes
PL PLINE / Creates a 2D polyline
PO POINT / Creates a point object
 HIDEPALETTES / Hides currently displayed palettes (including
POFF
the command line)
POL POLYGON / Creates an equilateral closed polyline
PON SHOWPALETTES / Restores the display of hidden palettes
PR PROPERTIES / Displays Properties palette
PRE PREVIEW / Displays the drawing as it will be plotted
PRINT PLOT / Plots a drawing to a plotter, printer, or file
PS PSPACE / Switches from a model space viewport to paper space
PSOLID POLYSOLID / Creates a 3D wall-like polysolid
PURGE / Removes unused items, such as block definitions and
PU
layers, from the drawing
PYR PYRAMID / Creates a 3D solid pyramid

QC QUICKCALC / Opens the QuickCalc calculator

QUICKCUI / Displays the Customize User Interface Editor in a
QCUI
collapsed state
QUICKPROPERTIES / Displays open drawings and layouts in a drawing
QP
in preview images
Q QSAVE / Saves the current drawing
QVDRAWING / Displays open drawings and layouts in a drawing using
QVD
preview images
QVDRAWINGCLOSE / Closes preview images of open drawings and
QVDC
layouts in a drawing
QVLAYOUT / Displays preview images of model space and layouts in
QVL
a drawing
QVLAYOUTCLOSE / Closes preview images of model space and layouts
QVLC
in the current drawing

R REDRAW / Refreshes the display in the current viewport

RA REDRAWALL / Refreshes the display in all viewports
RENDERCROP / Renders a specified rectangular area, called a crop
RC
window, within a viewport
RE REGEN / Regenerates the entire drawing from the current viewport
REA REGENALL / Regenerates the drawing and refreshes all viewports
REC RECTANG / Creates a rectangular polyline
REGION / Converts an object that encloses an area into a region
REG
object
RENAME / Changes the names assigned to items such as layers and
REN
dimension styles
REVOLVE / Creates a 3D solid or surface by sweeping a 2D object
REV
around an axis
RO ROTATE / Rotates objects around a base point
RP RENDERPRESETS / Specifies render presets, reusable rendering
 parameters, for rendering an image
RENDER / Creates a photorealistic or realistically shaded image of
RR
a 3D solid or surface model
RENDERWIN / Displays the Render window without starting a
RW
rendering operation

S, T, U
S

STRETCH / Stretches objects crossed by a selection window or

S
polygon
SCALE / Enlarges or reduces selected objects, keeping the
SC
proportions of the object the same after scaling
SCR SCRIPT / Executes a sequence of commands from a script file
SECTION / Uses the intersection of a plane and solids,
SEC
surfaces, or mesh to create a region
SET SETVAR / Lists or changes the values of system variables
SHA SHADEMODE / Starts the VSCURRENT command
SLICE / Creates new 3D solids and surfaces by slicing, or
SL
dividing, existing objects
SN SNAP / Restricts cursor movement to specified intervals
SO SOLID / Creates solid-filled triangles and quadrilaterals
SP SPELL / Checks spelling in a drawing
SPE SPLINEDIT / Edits a spline or spline-fit polyline
SPLINE / Creates a smooth curve that passes through or near
SPL
specified points
SECTIONPLANE / Creates a section object that acts as a cutting
SPLANE
plane through 3D objects
SPLAY SEQUENCEPLAY / Plays named views in one category
SPLIT MESHSPLIT / Splits a mesh face into two faces
SSM SHEETSET / Opens the Sheet Set Manager
ST STYLE / Creates, modifies, or specifies text styles
STANDARDS / Manages the association of standards files with
STA
drawings
SUBTRACT / Combines selected 3D solids, surfaces, or 2D regions
SU
by subtraction

T MTEXT / Creates a multiline text object

TEXTALIGN / Aligns multiple text objects vertically,
TA
horizontally, or obliquely
TB TABLE / Creates an empty table object
TEXTEDIT / Edits a dimensional constraint, dimension, or text
TED
object
 THICKNESS / Sets the default 3D thickness property when creating
TH
2D geometric objects
TI TILEMODE / Controls whether paper space can be accessed
TOLERANCE / Creates geometric tolerances contained in a feature
TOL
control frame
TOR TORUS / Creates a donut-shaped 3D solid
TP TOOLPALETTES / Opens the Tool Palettes window
TR TRIM / Trims objects to meet the edges of other objects
TS TABLESTYLE / Creates, modifies, or specifies table styles

UC UCSMAN / Manages defined user coordinate systems.

UNITS / Controls coordinate and angle display formats
UN
and precision.
UNHIDE / UNISOLATEOBJECTS / Displays objects previously hidden
UNISOLATE with the ISOLATEOBJECTS or HIDEOBJECTS command.
UNI UNION / Unions two solid or two region objects.

V, W, X
V

VIEW / Saves and restores named views, camera views, layout

V
views, and preset views.
VGO VIEWGO / Restores a named view.
VP VPOINT / Sets the 3D viewing direction.
VPLAY VIEWPLAY / Plays the animation associated to a named view.
VS VSCURRENT / Sets the visual style in the current viewport.
VISUALSTYLES / Creates and modifies visual styles and applies a
VSM
visual style to a viewport.

W WBLOCK / Writes objects or a block to a new drawing file.

WE WEDGE / Creates a 3D solid wedge.
NAVSWHEEL / Displays a wheel that contains a collection of view
WHEEL
navigation tools.

X EXPLODE / Breaks a compound object into its component objects.

XA XATTACH / Inserts a DWG file as an external reference (xref).
XBIND / Binds one or more definitions of named objects in an xref
XB
to the current drawing.
XC XCLIP / Crops the display of a selected external reference or block
 reference to a specified boundary.
XL XLINE / Creates a line of infinite length.
XR XREF / Starts the EXTERNALREFERENCES command.

Y - Z
Y

ZOOM / Increases or decreases the magnification of the view in

Z
the current viewport.
ANALYSISZEBRA / Projects stripes onto a 3D model to analyze
ZEBRA
surface continuity.
ETRANSMIT / Creates a Self-Extracting or Zipped Transmittal
ZIP
Package.