CIVIL ENGINEEING

Basics of AutoCAD

Auto-CAD is a Commercial Computer -aided design (CAD) and drafting software application.
• Father of AutoCAD- Mike Riddle
• Founder of AutoCAD - John Walker
• AutoCAD- Automatic Computer Aided Design
• CAD - Computer Aided Design
• CADD - Computer Aided Design and Drafting
• AutoCAD was first developed by Autodesk in December 1982 (only for personal use) and Latest
Version AutoCAD- 2025, version 25.0 released on 26 March 2024.
• Launched in March 1986 for commercial use and launched for India in 1988.
• Operating system - Windows, Macos, ios, Android
• AutoCAD file format - .dwg
• AutoCAD backup file format - .BAK
• AutoCAD Auto save file format - .SV$
Note: - The Character limit for AutoCAD file is 256 Character.

Type of AutoCAD: -
There are 5 types of AutoCAD:
1. 2D CAD (Flat Drawing) 2. 2.5D CAD (Prismatic model)
3. 3D CAD (3D objects) 4. 3D Wireframe & surface modelling
5. Solid Modelling (Solid Geometry)

Type of unit in AutoCAD–

There are 5 types of units in Auto CAD.
1. Architectural 2. Decimals
3. Engineering 4. Fractional
5. Scientific

Process of Designing –
Process of designing requires 6 steps. They are as follows:
1. Recognition of need 2. The definition of a problem
3. Synthesis 4. Analysis & optimization
5. Evaluation 6. Presentation

Functionality area of AutoCAD

There are 4 functionality area of Auto Cad.

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1. Geometric Modelling 2. Engineering Analysis

3. Design review & Evaluation 4. Automated Drafting

Work Space
3 work spaces available in AutoCAD.
1. Drafting & annotation
2. 3D Basics
3. 3D Modelling
CRT - Cathode Ray Tube Technology used in traditional computer monitors & TV. The color you
see on screen is produced by a blend of red, blue and green light. RGB- red, green, blue.

Important Points in AutoCAD-

• Origin of drawing is at (0, 0)
• Modern CAD system are based on ICG (Interactive Computer Graphics)
• Computer communicates with the user by CRT (Cathode Ray Tube).
• Input devices in CAD can be divided in to 3 general categories.
• UCS - User Co-ordinate system
WCS - World Co-ordinate system
LTS-Line Type Scale Command
CAM - Computer Aided Manufacturing
• Grip point:

• We need 2 points to define Rectangle command.

• 1 AutoCAD objects in a Rectangle.
• Using Polygon Command in AutoCAD, we can draw minimum 3 and maximum 1024 sides of
polygon.
• Minimum Allowable layers in a drawing = 1
• Objects are rotated around the base point.
• One quick way to view the entire drawing area by using the zoom command by Type Z enter A
enter.
• Grid spacing in X & Y direction is 10.
• Ortho mode allows the user to draw 90° straight lines.
• Input Devices in Cad can be divided into 3 parts.
• Newman & Sproull formulated 6 ground rules to be considered in designing graphics software.
• Cad & Cam are tied by a common data base.
• To obtain parallel lines, concentric circles and parallel curves offset is used.

Toggle Drawing Modes

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ALL SHORT KEY ARE TO BE REMEMBERED.

Some important Keys:

A ARC Creates an arc
B BLOCK Creates a block definition from selected objects
C CIRCLE Creates a circle
D DIMSTYLE Creates and modifies dimension styles
E ERASE Removes objects from a drawing
F FILLET Rounds and fillets the edges of objects
G GROUP Creates and manages saved sets of objects called groups
H HATCH Fills an enclosed area or selected objects with a hatch pattern, solid fill,
or gradient fill
I INSERT Inserts a block or drawing into the current drawing
J JOIN Joins similar objects to form a single, unbroken object
L LINE Creates straight line segments
M MOVE Moves objects a specified distance in a specified direction
O OFFSET Creates concentric circles, parallel lines, and parallel curves
P PAN Adds a parameter with grips to a dynamic block definition
Q QSAVE Saves the current drawing
R REDRAW Refreshes the display in the current viewport
S STRETCH Stretches objects crossed by a selection window or polygon
T MTEXT Creates a multiline text object
V VIEW Saves and restores named views, camera views, layout views, and preset
views
W WBLOCK Writes objects or a block to a new drawing file
X EXPLODE Breaks a compound object into its component objects
Z ZOOM Increases or decreases the magnification of the view in the current view port

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Toggle General Features

+d Toggle coordinate display
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 paletts
Ctrl + I Toggle coords
Ctrl + Shift + I Toggle infer constraints
Manage Screen
0 (zero) Clean Screen
Ctrl + 1 Property Palette
Ctrl + 2 Design Centre Palette
Ctrl + 3 Tool Palette
Ctrl + 4 Sheet Set Palette
Ctrl + 6 DB Connect Manager
Ctrl + 7 Markup Set Manager Palette
Ctrl + 8 Quick Calculation
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

Manage Workflow
Ctrl + c Copy object
Ctrl + x Cut object
Ctrl + v Paste object
Ctrl + Shift + c Copy to clipboard with base point
Ctrl + Shift + v Paste data as a block
Ctrl + z Undo last action
Ctrl + I Cancel current command (or ctrl + \)
ESC Cancel current command
Ctrl + c Copy object

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Shortcut keys of AutoCAD:

A
A ARC Creates an arc.
AA AREA Calculates the area and perimeter of objects or of defined areas.
ADC ADCENTER Manages and inserts content such as blocks, x refs, and hatch patterns.
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.
ATI ATTIPEDIT Changes the textual content of an attribute within a block.
ATT ATTDEF Redefines a block and updates associated attributes.
ATE ATTEDIT Changes attribute information in a block.

B
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.
BH HATCH Fills an enclosed area or selected objects with a hatch 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.
BVS BVSTATE Creates, sets or deletes a visibility state in a dynamic block.

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

D
D DIMSTYLE Creates and modifies dimension styles.
DAN DIMANGULAR Creates an angular dimension.

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DAR DIMARC Creates an arc length dimension.

DBA DIMBASELINE Creates a linear, angular, of ordinate dimension from the
baseline of the previous or selected dimension.
DBC DBCONNECT Provides an interface to external database tables.
DCE DIMCENTER Creates the center mark or the centerlines of circles and
arcs.
DCO DIMCONTINUE Creates a dimension that starts from an extension line of
a previously created dimension
DCON DIMCONSTRAINT Applies dimensional constraints to selected 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.
DIV DIVIDE Creates every spaced point object or blocks along the
length or perimeter of an object.
DJL DIMJOGLINE Adds or remove a jog line on a linear or aligned
Dimension
DJO DIMJOGGED Creates jogged dimensions for circles and arcs.
DL DATALINK The Data Link dialog box is displayed
DLU DATALINKUPDATE Updates data to or from an established external data link.
DO DONUT Creates a filed circle or a wide ring.
DOR DIMORDINATE Creates ordinate dimensions.
DR DRAWORDER Changes the draw order of images and other objects
DRA DIMRADIUS Creates a radius dimension for a circle or an arc
DRE DIMREASSOCIATE Associates or reassociates selected dimensions to objects
or points on objects.
DRM DRAWINGRECOVERY Displays a list of drawing files that can be recovered after
a program or system failure
DS DSETTINGS Sets grid and snap, polar and object snap tracking, object
snap modes, Dynamic input and Quick Properties.
DT TEXT Creates a single-line text object.
DV DVIEW Defines parallel projection or perspective views by using
a camera and target
DX DATAEXTRACTION Extracts drawing data and merges data from an external
source to a data extraction table or external file.

E
E ERASE Removes objects from a drawing.
ED DDEDIT Edits single-line text, dimension text, attribute definitions, and
feature control frames
EL ELLIPSE Creates an ellipse or an elliptical arc.
EPDF EXPORTDF Exports drawing to PDF.
ER EXTERNAL Opens the External References palette.
REFERENCES
EX EXTEND Extends objects to meet the edges of other objects.

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EXIT QUIT Exits the program.

EXP EXPORT Saves the objects in a drawing to a different file format.
EXT EXTRUDE Extends the dimensions of a 2D object or 3D face into 3D face
into 3D space.

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

G
G GROUP Creates and manages saved sets of objects called groups.
GCON GEOCONSTRAINT Applies or persists geometric relationships between objects
or points on objects.
GD GRADIENT Fills an enclosed area or selected objects with a gradient fill.

H
H HATCH Fills an enclosed area or selected objects with a hatch pattern,
solid fill, or gradient fill.
HE HATCHEDIT Modifies an existing hatch or fill.
HI HIDE Regenerates a 3D wireframe model with hidden lines
suppressed.

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

J
J JOIN Joins similar objects to form a single, unbroken object.
JOG DIMJOGGED Creates jogged dimensions for circles and arcs.

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L
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.
LEN LENLENGTHEN Changes the length of objects and the included angle of arcs.
LI LIST Displays property data for selected objects.
LO LAYOUT Creates and modifies drawing layout tabs.
LT LINETYPE Loads, sets, and modifies linetypes.
LTS LTSCALE Changes the scale factor of line types for all objects in a
drawing.

M
M MOVE Moves objects a specified distance in a specified direction.
MA MATCHPROP Applies the properties of a selected object to other objects
MAT MATERIALS Shows or hides the Materials window
ME MEASURE Creates point objects or blocks at measured intervals along the
length or perimeter of an object.
MEA MEASUREGEOM Measures the distance, radius, angle, area and volume of
selected objects or sequence of points.
MI MIRROR Creates a mirrored copy of selected objects.
ML MLINE Creates multiple parallel lines.
MLD MLEADER Creates a multileader object
MLE MLEADEREDIT Adds leader lines to, or removes leader lines from, a
multileader object.
MLS MLEADERSTYLE Creates and modifies multileader styles.
MO PROPERTIES Controls properties of existing objects.
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.

N
NSHOT NEWSHOT Creates a named view with motion that is played back when
viewed with Show Motion.
NVIEW NEWVIEW Creates a named view with no motion.

O
O OFFSET Creates concentric circles, parallel lines, and parallel curves.
OP OPTIONS Customizes the program setting.
ORBIT 3DORBIT Rotates the view in 3D space, but constrained to horizontal
and vertical orbit only.
OS OSNAP Sets running object snap modes.

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P PAN Adds a parameter with grips to a dynamic block

definition.
PA PASTESPEC Pastes objects from the Clipboard into the current
drawing and controls the format of the data.
PAR PARAMETERS Controls the associative parameters used in the
drawing.
PARAM BPARAMETER Adds a parameter with grips to a dynamic block
definition
PATCH SURFPATCH Creates a new surface by fitting a cap over a
surface edge that forms a closed loop.
PC POINTCLOUD Provides options to create and attach point cloud
files.
PCATTACH POINTCLOUDATTACH Inserts an indexed point cloud file into the current
drawing.
PCINDEX POINTCLOUDINDEX Creates an indexed point cloud (PCG or ISD) file
from a scan file.
PE PEDIT Edits polylines and 3D polygon meshes.
PL PLINE Creates a 2D polyline.
PO POINT Creates a point object
POFF HIDEPALETTES Hides currently displayed palettes (including the
command line).
POL POLYGON Creates an equilateral closed polyline.
PON SHOWPALETTES Restores the display of hidden paletters.
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 mode space viewport to paper
space.
PSOLID POLYSOLID Creates a 3D wall-like polysolid.
PU PURGE Removes unused items, such as block definitions
and layers, from the drawing.
PYR PYRAMID Creates a 3D solid pyramid.

R
R REDRAW Refreshes the display in the current viewport.
RA REDRAWALL Refreshes the display in all viewports.
RC RENDERCROP Renders a specified rectangular area, called a crop window,
within a viewport.
RE REGEN Regenerates the entire drawing from the current viewport.
REA REGENALL Regenerates the drawing and refreshes all viewports.
REC RECTANGLE Creates a rectangular polyline.
REG REGION Converts an object that encloses an area into a region object.
REN RENAME Changes the names assigned to items such as layers and
dimension styles.
REV REVOLVE Creates a 3D solid or surface by sweeping a 2D object around
an axis.

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RO ROTATE Rotates objects around a base point.

RP RENDERPRESETS Specifies render presets, reusable rendering parameters, for
rendering an image.
RPR RPREF Displays or hides the Advanced Render Settings palette for
access to advanced rendering settings.
RR RENDER Creates a photorealistic or realistically shaded image of a 3D
solid or surface model.
RW RENDERWIN Displays the Render window without starting a rendering
operation.

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

T
T MTEXT Creates a multiline text object.
TA TABLET Calibrates, configures, and turns on and off an attached
digitizing tablet.
TB TABLE Creates an empty table object.
TH THICKNESS Sets the default 3D thickness property when creating 2D
geometric objects.
TI TILEMODE Controls whether paper space can be accessed.

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TO TOOLBAR Displays, hides, and customizes toolbars.

TOL TOLERANCE Creates geometric tolerances contained in a feature 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.

U
UC UCSMAN Manages defined user coordinate systems
UN UNITS Controls coordinate and angle display formats & precision

V
V VIEW Saves and restores named views, camera views, layout
views, and preset views.
VGO VIEWGO Restores a named view.
VP DDVPOINT 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.
VSM VISUALSTYLES Creates and modifies visual styles and applies a visual style
to a viewport.

W
W WBLOCK Writes objects or a block to a new drawing file
WE WEDGE Creates a 3D solid wedge.
WHEEL NAVSWHEEL Displays a wheel that contains a collection of view
navigation tools.

X
X EXPLODE Breaks a compound object into its component objects.
XA XATTACH Inserts a DWG file as an external reference (xref).
XB XBIND Binds one or more definitions of named objects in an xref 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 EXTERNAL REFERENCES command.

Z
Z ZOOM Increases or decreases the magnification of the view in the
current viewport
ZEBRA ANALYSISZEBRA Projects stripes onto a 3D model to analyze surface
continuity.
ZIP ETRANSMIT Creates a Self-Extracting or Zipped Transmittal Package.

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