AutoCAD

Commands and Shortcut Keys…..

BLOCKS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

ATT ATTDEF Opens attribute definition dialogue box

ATTEDIT ATTEDIT Edit attribute values for a specific block

B BLOCK Opens block dialogue box in order to make a block

BATTMAN BATTMAN Opens block attribute manager

BATTORDER BATTORDER Displays attribute order dialogue box

BC BCLOSE Closes the block editor

BCOUNT BCOUNT Counts the blocks in a drawing

BE BEDIT Opens the edit block definition dialogue box

EATTEXT EATTEXT Enhanced attribute extraction wizard to count blocks

GATTE GATTE Global attribute edit of multiple blocks

I INSERT Opens insert dialogue to insert a block

-I INSERT Insert a block by name

MINSERT MINSERT Insert block in rectangular array

REFEDIT REFEDIT Edit a block reference in place

REN RENAME Opens rename dialogue box to rename blocks, layers, etc
W WBLOCK Write a block - for use in other drawings

XLIST XLIST Lists type/block name/layer name/color/linetype of a

nested object in a block or an xref
COMMON COMMANDS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

A ARC Draw an arc

AL ALIGN Align an object with another

AP APPLOAD Opens application load dialogue box

AR ARRAY Opens array dialogue box

AUDIT AUDIT Audit drawing for errors

AV DSVIEWER Opens ariel view of drawing

B BLOCK Opens block dialogue box

C CIRCLE Draw a circle
CO COPY Copy an object
CHA CHAMFER Chamfer between 2 non-parallel lines
COL COLOR Opens select color dialogue box

CUI Opens customise user interface dialogue

D DIMSTYLE Opens dimstyle manager

DC ADCENTER Opens designcenter

DI DIST Check a distance

DIV DIVIDE Inserts point node a set division

DO DONUT Draw a solid donut shape

DV DVIEW Perspective view E

ERASE Erase a selection EX EXTEND

Extend a selection

F FILLET Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines

FI FILTER Opens filter dialogue box

FLATTEN FLATTEN Converts 3D to 2D

G GROUP Launches the group dialogue box

H HATCH Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box

I INSERT Insert a block

IM IMAGE Launches image manager

J JOIN Joins 2 objects to form single object

JPGOUT JPGOUT Creates a JPEG file of current drawing

L LINE Draw a line

LA LAYER Opens layer manager

LE QLEADER Draw a leader line (may need to adjust settings)

LEAD LEADER Leader line with annotation

LI or LS LIST Display information about objects in a text window

LO -LAYOUT Creates a new layout tab

LTS LTScale Change the linetype scale

M MOVE Move a selection

MA MATCHPROPERTIES Match properties of an object

ME MEASURE Inserts point node at input distance

O OFFSET Offset a selection

OP OPTIONS Launches options dialogue box

P PAN Pan in drawing

PE POLYEDIT Edit a polyline

PL PLINE Draw a polyline

PLOT PLOT Opens plot/print dialogue box

PO POINT Point marker or node - DDPTYPE to change pointstyle

PR PROPERTIES Opens properties dialogue box

PRE PREVIEW Preview a plot

PU PURGE Opens purge dialogue box to remove unused elements

RE REGEN Regenerate the display

REC RECTANG Draw a rectangle
REN RENAME Opens rename dialogue box to rename blocks, layers, etc

RO ROTATE Rotate a selection

SP SPELL Spell check a selection - ALL to check entire drawing

T MTEXT Insert multiline text

TB TABLE Opens insert a table dialogue box

TP TOOLPALETTES Displays toolpalette

TR TRIM Trim a selection

U UNDO Undo last command

UN UNITS Opens units dialogue box

V VIEW Opens view dialogue box

W WBLOCK Write a block

WHOHAS WHOHAS Displays who has a drawing open

X EXPLODE Explode a selection

XR XREF Opens x-reference manager

Z ZOOM Zoom in display - A=All, E=EXTENTS, W=WINDOW

CONTROL KEYS
CTRL+0 CLEANSCREEN Turns user interface elements on/off
CTRL+1 PROPERTIES Turns properties on/off CTRL+2

ADCENTER Turns design center on/off CTRL+3

TOOLPALETTES Turns tool palettes window on/off CTRL+8

QUICKCALC Launches calculator window CTRL+A

Select all

CTRL+C COPYCLIP Copies objects to clipboard

CTRL+H Turns a group on or off

CTRL+J Repeats last command

CTRL+N NEW Opens create new drawing dialogue box

CTRL+O OPEN Opens the select file dialogue box

CTRL+P PLOT Opens the plot dialogue box

CTRL+R CVPORT Switches between viewports

CTRL+S QSAVE Opens the save drawing as dialogue box

CTRL+SHIFT+ Save as
S

CTRL+V PASTECLIP Pastes data from clipboard to drawing

CTRL+X CUTCLIP Removes select object from drawing to clipboard

CTRL+Y REDO Performs the operation cancelled by UNDO

CTRL+Z UNDO Undoes the last operation

CTRL+TAB Switches between open drawings

CTRL+PAGE Switch up between layout tabs
UP

CTRL+PAGE Switch down between layout tabs

DOWN

ARROW Recall last command

UP/Down
DIMENSIONING
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

CTRL+8 QUICKCALC Displays the calculator

D DIMSTYLE Opens dimension style manager dialogue box

DAL DIMALIGNED Aligned linear dimension line

DAN DIMANGULAR Angular dimension line
DAR DIMARC Arc length dimension
DBA DIMBASELINE Ordinate dimension from baseline of previous dimension

DCO DIMCONTINUE Ordinate dimension from 2nd extension line of previous

dimension

DDI DIMDIAMETER Diameter dimension for circles and arcs

DED DIMEDIT Edit dimension text on dimension objects

DI DIST Check a distance

DIMCENTER DIMCENTER Creates center mark

DLI DIMLINEAR Linear dimension

DOR DIMORDINATE Ordinate point dimension

DOV DIMOVERRIDE Override dimension style

DRA DIMRADIUS Radial dimension for circles and arcs

ID ID Display the co-ordinate values of a point

UN UNITS Opens drawing units dialogue box

DRAWING OBJECTS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

A ARC Draw an arc with 3 points

B BLOCK Opens block dialogue box in order to make a block

BO BOUNDARY Draw a boundary

C CIRCLE Draw a circle

DO DONUT Draw a solid donut shape

DT TEXT Single line text

DIV DIVIDE Inserts point node a set division

EL ELLIPSE Draw an ellipse

F FILLET Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines

G GROUP Opens object grouping dialogue

H HATCH Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box

L LINE Draw a line
LE QLEADER Draw a leader line (may need to adjust settings)

LEAD LEADER Leader line with annotation

ML MLINE Draw multilines

O OFFSET Offset an object by distance

PL PLINE Draw a polyline - a complex line

PO POINT Point marker or node - DDPTYPE to change pointstyle

POL POLYGON Draw a regular polygon 3 to 1024 sides
RAY RAY Construction line in one direction
REC RECTANG Draw a rectangle
REG REGION Region - for shading for example

REVCLOUD REVCLOUD Revision cloud - note can select a polyline

SPL SPLINE Spline or smooth curve along points

T MTEXT Multi-line text

WIPEOUT WIPEOUT Masks part of drawing for clarity

XL XLINE Construction line of infinite length

TIP
1. Use PO to create node point - if you do not see anything try changing the node properties
DDPTYPE.
2. Alternatively set PDMODE to 3 to display an X at id point set PDMODE to 0 to clear.

EXTERNAL REFERENCE - XREF

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

REFEDIT REFEDIT Edit an external reference in place

XA XATTACH Opens select reference file dialogue for attaching Xref

XB XBIND Opens Xbind dialogue - allows import only of symbols etc

XC XCLIP Create a border in an xref to hide outside area

XOPEN XOPEN Opens a selected xref in a new window

XR XREF Opens Xref manager dialogue box

TIP
1. Using RELATIVE PATH to find the Xref file relative to the existing location can be a benefit if files
are moved between locations or sent to others.
2. OVERLAID should be used in place of ATTACH if 2 drawings share a common Xref, eg a
mechanical drawing could be overlaid an electrical drawing to prevent the building outline ‘appearing’
twice.
NOTES
1. If a drawing has an Xref, the status bar will show the Manage Xref icon.

FORMATTING
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

AP APPLOAD Opens application load dialogue box

BE BEDIT Opens the edit block definition dialogue box

BH BHATCH Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box

CUI Opens customise user interface dialogue
D DIMSTYLE Opens dimension style manager dialogue box

DC ADCENTER Opens designcenter

DDPTYPE DDPTYPE Opens point style dialogue box

LA LAYER Opens layer manager

LT DDLTYPE Opens line type manager

LTS LTSCALE Change the linetype scale

LW LWEIGHT Opens line weight settings dialogue box

MA MATCHPROPERTIES Match properties of an object
OP OPTIONS Launches options dialogue box
OS DDOSNAP Opens drafting settings object snap dialogue

PR DDCHPROP Opens properties dialogue box

SSM SHEETSET Opens sheet set manager palette

ST DDSTYLE Opens text style dialogue box

TP TOOLPALETTES Displays toolpalette

TS TABLESTYLE Opens table style dialogue box

FUNCTION KEYS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

F1 HELP Opens Autocad help

F2 TEXTSCR Switches between text screen and graphic area
GRAPHSCR

F3 OSNAP Switches osnap on/off

F5 or CTRL+E ISOPLANE Cycles through isoplanes

F6 or CTRL+D COORDS Turns coordinate display on/off

F7 or CTRL+G GRID Turns grid on/off

F8 or CTRL+L ORTHO Turns ortho on/off

F9 or CTRL+B SNAP Turns snap on/off

F10 or CTRL+U POLAR Turns polar on/off

F11 or OSNAP TRACK Turns object snap tracking on/off
CTRL+W

F12 DYNMODE Turns dynamic input on/off

INQUIRY
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

AA AREA Calculate the area

DI DIST Calculate a distance and angle

DDPTYPE DDPTYPE Opens point style dialogue box
ID ID Display the co-ordinate values of a point

LI or LS LIST Display information about objects in a text window

MASSPROP MASSPROP Calculate the region/mass properties of a solid
PR PROPERTIES Opens properties dialogue box
WHOHAS WHOHAS Displays who has a drawing open

XLIST XLIST Lists type/block name/layer name/color/linetype of a

nested object in a block or an xref

TIP
1. If you wish to identify a known location use ID and enter co-ordinates on command line to mark
that location with a node point - if you do not see anything try changing the node properties
DDPTYPE.
2. Alternatively set PDMODE to 3 to display an X at id point set PDMODE to 0 to clear.
LAYERS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

LA LAYER Opens layer manager

LAYCUR LAYERCURRENT Change objects to current layer

LAYDEL LAYERDELETE Delete a layer by selecting object

LAYFRZ LAYERFREEZE Freeze a layer by selecting object

LAYISO LAYERISOLATE Isolates a layer by selecting object

LAYLCK LAYERLOCK Lock a layer by selecting object

LAYMCH LAYERMATCH Match properties of a layer

LAYMRG LAYERMERGE Moves objects from first layer to second and deletes first

LAYOFF LAYEROFF Switches a layer off

LAYON LAYERON Switches all layers on except frozen layers

LAYERP LAYERPREVIOUS Restores previous layer state

LAYTHW LAYTHW Thaws all layers

LAYWALK LAYERWALK Walk through layers

LMAN LMAN Access Layer manager to save and restore layer states

TIP
Layer States - Create a layer state in Layer Manager (LA then Alt+S) to quickly switch between
different layer property settings.

MODIFYING OBJECTS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

AL ALIGN Align an object with another

AR ARRAY Make multiple copies of an object

BR BREAK Break a line by defining 2 points

CO or CP COPY Copy object

COPYTOLAYE COPYTOLAYER Copy object from one layer to another
R

CHA CHAMFER Chamfer between 2 non-parallel lines

E ERASE Erase selection

EX EXTEND Extend a line to meet another

F FILLET Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines

G GROUP Opens object grouping dialogue - use to copy or move

LEN LENGTHEN Lengthen or shorten a line

M MOVE Move an object

MI MIRROR Mirror an object
MOCORO MOVE/COPY/ROTAT Copy move and rotate an object with one command
E

O OFFSET Offset an object by distance

RO ROTATE Rotate an object

S STRETCH Stretch an object

SC SCALE Scale an object

TR TRIM Trim objects

X EXPLODE Explode single entity to component parts

TIP
1. When a grip point is selected cycle through command options using keyboard spacebar -
sequence STRETCH, MOVE, ROTATE, SCALE, MIRROR.
2. Switch between Group and Ungroup using CTRL+H, yes H!!

OBJECT SELECTION (use with editing commands)

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

A ADD Adds each successive object, switches from remove

ALL ALL All objects on thawed layers

CP CPOLYGON Objects touching or enclosed by selection polygon

C CROSSING Objects touched or enclosed by window - Move right to
left

F FENCE Objects touch by single selection fence

G GROUP Opens object grouping dialogue - use with copy/move/etc

L LAST Most recently created visible object

P PREVIOUS Most recent selection set

R REMOVE Objects to remove from selection set

SNAPANG SNAPANGLE Change the snap angle from default 0°

W WINDOW Objects enclosed by window - Move left to right

WP WPOLYGON Objects within a window polygon

TIP
1. Use SHIFT+LEFT MOUSE BUTTON to deselect an object.
2. When a grip point is selected cycle through command options using keyboard spacebar -
sequence STRETCH, MOVE, ROTATE, SCALE, MIRROR.
3. Object Cycling - hold down the Control key while picking, AutoCAD will cycle through all the
objects that fall under the pickbox as you continue to pick. When the correct object is
highlighted, simply hit Enter. You don't need to continue to hold down the Control key after
the first pick.
OBJECT SNAP - OSNAP
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

F3 OSNAP Switches osnap on/off

F9 or CTRL+B SNAP Turns snap on/off
F11 or OSNAP TRACK Turns object snap tracking on/off
CTRL+W

APP APPARENT INT Apparent intersection of 2 objects

CEN CENof Snap to centre point

DS DDOSNAP Opens drafting settings/object snap dialogue

END ENDPOINT Snap to end of line etc

EXT EXTENSION Extends lines beyond endpoint

FRO FROM Snap to an offset distance from an object snap

INS INSERTION Snap to insertion point of text or block INT

INTERSECTION Snap to intersection of lines, circles, arcs MID

MIDPOINT Snap to midpoint of line etc

MTP Snap midpoint between two points

NEA NEAREST Snap near to an object

NOD NODE Snap to point node

NON NONE Turns off object snap modes

PAR PARALLEL Continues a line parallel to existing

PER PERPENDICULAR Snap to perpendicular of line etc

QUA QUADRANT Snap to quadrant of circle, arc, ellipse

TAN TANGENT Snap to tangent of circle, arc, ellipse

TK TRACK Locate points without drawing lines

TT TT Temporary tracking point

TIP
1. Use TAB to cycle through Osnap points.
2. SHIFT+RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON to reveal Osnap options

TEXT
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

%%C Ø Diameter dimensioning symbol

%%D ° Degrees symbol

%%O OVERSCORE Toggles overscore mode on/off

%%P ± Plus/minus symbol

%%U UNDERSCORE Toggles underscore on/off
DT DTEXT Single line dynamic text - Justify/Align to fit within text
line

ED DDEDIT Edit text

FIND FIND Opens find and replace dialogue box

JUSTIFYTEXT JUSTIFYTEXT Change the justification point without moving text

MIRRTEXT MIRRTEXT Mirrtext 0 to turn off

SCALETEXT SCALETEXT Scales text without moving the text insertion point

SPELL SPELLCHECK Performs spellcheck - ALL checks all text in drawing

ST STYLE Opens text style dialogue box

T or MT MTEXT Multiline/paragraph text

TCIRCLE TCIRCLE Places circle, slot, or rectangle around each selected text
object

TEXT DTEXT Single line dynamic text

TEXTFIT TEXTFIT Stretches/shrinks text by selecting new start and/or end

points

TORIENT TORIENT Rotates text, mtext, and attribute definition objects

TXT2MTXT TXT2MTXT Converts DTEXT to MTEXT

WIPEOUT WIPEOUT Masks part of drawing for clarity

TIPS
1. To fit or align text in a defined area use DTEXT and select JUSTIFY/ALIGN or FIT - very
useful if text is enclosed by a rectangle/ circle/etc.

NOTES
1. Text entered in paperspace is 1:1, e.g. 5mm high text will print 5mm high.

THREE DIMENSIONAL - 3D
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

3D 3D Command line 3D solid options

BOX BOX Draw a cube

CYLINDER CYLINDER Draw a cylinder

DDUCS DDUCS Opens ucs dialogue

DDUCSP DDUCSP Opens ucs dialogue at orthographic tab

EXT EXTRUDE Extrude a face

IN INTERSECT Intersect an object

REV REVOLVE Revolves an object about an axis

RR RENDER Open render dialogue box

SE SECTION Section

SL SLICE Slice a solid

SU SUBTRACT Subtract selection from solid
TOR TORUS Draw torus shape

UC DDUCS Displays UCS manager dialogue box

UCS UCS UCS command line options

UNI UNION Union solids

VPORTS VPORTS Opens viewport dialogue box

WE WEDGE Draw a wedge

UCS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

OB OBJECT Align UCS with an object, first select UCS

UC DDUCS Display UCS manager dialogue box

UCS UCS Universal co-ordinate system options

UCSICON UCSICON Change the UCS icon appearance

W WORLD Return to the WCS

VIEWPORTS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

CTRL+R Cycle through viewports

CTRL+PAGE Switch up between layout tabs
UP

CTRL+PAGE Switch down between layout tabs

DOWN

DV DVIEW Perspective view.

MS MSPACE Switch to modelspace in a viewport

MV MVIEW Make a viewport in paperspace

PS PSPACE Switch to paperspace from viewport

VPORTS VPORTS Opens viewports dialogue box

-VPORTS -VPORTS Create a viewport using command line

TIP
1. To prevent a viewport from editing right mouse click on the viewport and select DISPLAY
LOCKED/YES