MODULE 3: SETTING UP AUTOCAD

A. ALL ABOUT COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN (CAD)

 The Windows Drawing Editor

B. KEYBOARD AND MOUSE FUNCTIONS

 The Pick Button
 The Enter Button

C. FUNCTION BUTTONS

D. ENTERING COMMANDS AND COORDINATES

E. WINDOWS TOOLBARS
 Using Windows Toolbars
 Placing Toolbars
 To Dock a Toolbar
 The Windows Command Window

F. SCROLL BARS

G. OPENING OR ACCESSING DRAWINGS

 Opening Existing Drawings
 Recovering Files
 Saving Files
 Changing the Drawing Name or Directory

This module is for the exclusive use of the University of La Salette, Inc. Any form of reproduction, distribution, uploading, or posting
online in any form or by any means without the written permission of the university is strictly prohibited. 1
 In this module, AutoCAD layout will be introduced. The basic functions of mouse
and keyboard will be discussed including the function buttons that are useful throughout
the use of software. Commands, Toolbars and Coordinates will be explained and
illustrated. The basics of accessing drawing files will be included in this module as well.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of module 3, you should have achieved the following topic learning outcomes:

1. Start-up AutoCAD and understand the Windows Drawing Editor

2. Know the keyboard and mouse functions
3. Understand the application of function buttons
4. Enter commands and coordinates
5. Access scroll bars
6. Open or access drawings

A. START UP AUTOCAD

Your Windows environment should have been set up so that a double-click

on the AutoCAD application icon will bring up AutoCAD. You will automatically be
placed in the Drawing Editor. When you first start up, there may be palettes
overlaying your screen. Click on the "X" to remove them.

The Windows Drawing Editor

The initial Windows screen contains the menu bar, the status bar, the
drawing window or graphics area, and several toolbars. Toolbars contain icons that
represent commands.

This module is for the exclusive use of the University of La Salette, Inc. Any form of reproduction, distribution, uploading, or posting
online in any form or by any means without the written permission of the university is strictly prohibited. 2
 The menu bar (along the top) contains the pull-down menus. The status bar
(along the bottom) displays the cursor coordinates and the status modes such as
GRID and SNAP. Mode names are always visible in the status bar as selectable
buttons. Click the buttons to toggle the modes. The command line in Windows is
"floating," that is, it may be dragged to any location on the screen. The command
line is where your commands will be written out. Keep reading this to see where
you are.

B. KEYBOARD AND MOUSE FUNCTIONS

There are many different kinds of pointing devices or mice on the market.
Some have two or three buttons. Two buttons are adequate for most operations.
A central roller on the top of the mouse will help with display commands.

In releases after 2004, the roller ball on the mouse will both ZOOM and PAN
your file.

The Pick Button

On all mice there is a point or command indicator or pick button; on a two-

button mouse, it is usually on the left side of the device.

The pick button is used to indicate the command you want to access either
from the on-screen menu or from the digitizer tablet. It is also used to indicate point
positions.

The Enter Button

The button on the right of the mouse will often have the function of the J key (Enter
or Return) on the keyboard. This signals the end of command. There is also a right-
click facility that accesses the functions associated with each command. This can
be turned off under the Tools pull-down menu by selecting Options and then User
Preferences.

This module is for the exclusive use of the University of La Salette, Inc. Any form of reproduction, distribution, uploading, or posting
online in any form or by any means without the written permission of the university is strictly prohibited. 3
 C. FUNCTION BUTTONS

Many people who have used AutoCAD for a few years still make use of the
function keys on the top of the keyboard (F6, F7, F8, etc.). Move the mouse around
the screen noting the
movement of the crosshairs.

Key Feature Description

F1 Help -Displays Help for the

active tooltip, command, palette or
dialog box.

F2 Expanded history- Displays

an expanded command history in
the Command window.

F3 Object Snap-Turns object snap on and off.

F4 3D object Snap-Turns additional object snaps for 3D on and off.

F5 Isoplane -Cycles through 2D isoplane settings.

F6 Dynamic UCS (AutoCAD only)-Turns automatic UCS alignment with planar surfaces
on and off.

F7 Grid display -Turns the grid display on and off.

F8 Ortho-Locks cursor movement to horizontal or vertical.

F9 Grid snap -Restricts cursor movement to specified grid intervals.

This module is for the exclusive use of the University of La Salette, Inc. Any form of reproduction, distribution, uploading, or posting
online in any form or by any means without the written permission of the university is strictly prohibited. 4
 F10 Polar tracking -Guides cursor movement to specified angles.

F11 Object snap tracking -Tracks the cursor horizontally and vertically from object snap
locations.

F12 Dynamic input -Displays distances and angles near the cursor and accepts input as
you use Tab between fields.

D. ENTERING COMMANDS AND COORDINATES

You can enter information either through the keyboard or through your
mouse or pointing device. There are also toolbars and icons that help to access
the information. You can enter a command by typing it in at the command prompt
or you can use the pointing device to pick up commands from:

 the pull-down menus in the menu bar

 the icons on the toolbars.

E. WINDOWS TOOLBARS

Toolbars are groups of icons or tools compiled according to application. Toolbars

can be on-screen or not, and can be on the top or side of your screen or floating.

This module is for the exclusive use of the University of La Salette, Inc. Any form of reproduction, distribution, uploading, or posting
online in any form or by any means without the written permission of the university is strictly prohibited. 5
 Accessing Toolbars

In Releases 2000 to 2005, Toolbars can be

accessed through the View pull-down menu. Pick
View, then Toolbars, then the tool-bar that you need.
In Releases 2006, 2007 and 2008, simply right-click
the two parallel lines on the end of the toolbar, and a
list of possible toolbars will appear. Pick the one you
want.

To remove a toolbar from your screen, click on

the X icon on the top right of the toolbar.

Using Windows Toolbars

Toolbars contain tools that represent

commands. When you move the pointing device over
a tool, Tooltips display the name of the tool below the
cursor. Pick that tool to invoke the command.

Placing Toolbars

The Standard toolbar is visible by default. It

carries frequently used tools such as Zoom, Redraw,
and Undo. A docked too/bar attaches to any edge of the graphics window. A
floating toolbar can lie anywhere on the application screen, and it can be resized
and does not overlap with the drawing window.

If none of your toolbars appear on screen, exit AutoCAD and open the
software again. Your start-up file may not have been properly loaded.

To Dock a Toolbar

1. Position the cursor on the toolbar, and press the pick button on the
pointing device.
2. Drag the toolbar to a dock location at the top, bottom, or either side of the
drawing window.
3. When the outline of the toolbar appears in the docking area, release the
pick button.

To place the toolbar in a docking region without docking it, hold down the Ctr1
key as you drag.

Placing the First Toolbar

This module is for the exclusive use of the University of La Salette, Inc. Any form of reproduction, distribution, uploading, or posting
online in any form or by any means without the written permission of the university is strictly prohibited. 6
 If your screen comes up with no toolbars, type in the word 'toolbar'
preceeded by a dash as shown below. Then type in 'Standard' and your
Standard toolbar will appear. Dock it, as explained above, then right-click the two
parallel lines on the end and place the other toolbars as required. If this doesn't
work, exit AutoCAD and reload it.

The Windows Command Window

Like the toolbars, the Windows command line or response area can be
moved and docked. By default, the command window is docked at the bottom of
your screen.

You can resize the command window vertically and horizontally, both with
the pointing device and with the splitter bar located at the top edge of the window
when docked on the bottom and on the bottom edge when docked at the top.
Resizing and docking the command window can help you to create more space
for your drawings on-screen. It can also help you see your commands to find out
where you may have gone wrong.

F. SCROLL BARS

In most Windows applications there are scroll bars that advance the file you
are viewing. Each scroll bar has arrows that indicate a move up or down. To access
an area not displayed, click on the up or down arrow until the information is
displayed or pick the box within the scroll bar and move it quickly up and down the
screen.

Scroll bars can be either vertical or horizontal. In Windows, the scroll bars
on the top and bottom move the file across the screen in the same way that PAN
does.

This module is for the exclusive use of the University of La Salette, Inc. Any form of reproduction, distribution, uploading, or posting
online in any form or by any means without the written permission of the university is strictly prohibited. 7
 G. OPENING OR ACCESSING
DRAWINGS

Once you have accessed the

Drawing Editor, you can start
drawing and later save your work
under a specified name in a specified
directory. If you have a drawing
stated in AutoCAD Release 2000i,
2004 or some earlier version, you
can use OPEN to find it and then
work on it.

Opening Existing Drawings

The command line equivalent

is OPEN.

In Windows, under File Name

double-click the file name in the list of
files. Use the scroll bars to access other files. To access other directories, pick the
down arrow be-side the words' Look in:'. You can also type in the drawing name
by picking the long white box beside File Name, then typing in the name of the file.
If you prefer to type in both the directory and the name, type that into the File Name
box.

Once your file is open, any changes can be saved to the same directory
with the SAVE command.

Starting a New File

If you would like to start a new file, access the same File menu and choose
New.

Before the new file is created, you can choose a default drawing file
environment and/or enter the name of the file that you wish to create.

This module is for the exclusive use of the University of La Salette, Inc. Any form of reproduction, distribution, uploading, or posting
online in any form or by any means without the written permission of the university is strictly prohibited. 8
 The _dwt extension stands for drawing template. acad.dwt is imperial,
acadiso.dwt is metric.

The default file environment can be either the acad.dwt standard file or a
prototype file that contains all the settings for a specific application. Once you are
familiar with AutoCAD, you can save drawing templates that contain plotter
information, layer in-formation, groups, blocks, linetypes, and other standard
information so that you don't need to set up your file from scratch each time.

Recovering Files

If you have a problem with retrieving a file using OPEN, you may need to
RECOVER the file. Usually these problems are caused by either bad diskettes or
removing the floppy disk from the drive before AutoCAD has completely exited
from the file. If you need to restore a file, simply type in RECOVER at the command
prompt. Theoretically, the OPEN command should automatically repair any
damaged files, but if this doesn't work, try RECOVER.

Saving Files

Computers have a tendency to lose information at the worst possible times.

It is suggested that when you are using AutoCAD you save your files at least every
hour.

The first time you save a drawing, you will be prompted for the name of the
file before it is saved. If you have already entered the name of the current file under
the New option under File, then AutoCAD simply saves the file under the given
name and directory and you will not be prompted for a name.

To save a named file, use SAVE. Use the icon or

a) Type in the word SAVE at the command prompt

b) From the File menu, choose SAVE. In the Save Drawing As dialog
box, enter the new drawing name. Then choose OK.

Choose SAVE every subsequent time you would like to save the drawing,
and the drawing will automatically be saved under this specified file name.

If you specified a directory and file when you signed on, use SAVE to save
the file under this name.

To save the file under a new name or on a different directory, choose Save
As from the File pull-down menu.

This module is for the exclusive use of the University of La Salette, Inc. Any form of reproduction, distribution, uploading, or posting
online in any form or by any means without the written permission of the university is strictly prohibited. 9
 To change the directory, double-click on the directory listing that you want.
The line reading 'Look In:' must reflect the directory chosen.

Changing the Drawing Name or Directory

If you want to change the drawing name or directory, use Save As. If you
have been addressing C: while creating your drawing, you can save the file onto a
disk before exiting the file by using Save As, then pick A: or B: for the directory or
drive.

Once you have saved the file, you can exit AutoCAD either by clicking on
the X at the top right or by picking Exit from the File menu.

The command line equivalent is QUIT.

The large red X will exit you from AutoCAD. The smaller black x will exit you
from the current drawing.

Do not remove your disk from the drive before you have completely exited
from AutoCAD.

REFERENCES:
www.thesourcecad.com

This module is for the exclusive use of the University of La Salette, Inc. Any form of reproduction, distribution, uploading, or posting
online in any form or by any means without the written permission of the university is strictly prohibited. 10