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 also activate other workspaces by using the Workspace
drop-down on the bottom-right corner or the Workspace
Switching menu on the window’s upper-left corner.
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, and Layers are located in the
Home tab.
Quick Access Toolbar
This is located at the top left corner of the window and helps you to access commands, quickly.
It consists of commonly used commands such as New, Save, Open, Save As, and so on.

File tabs
File tabs are located below the ribbon. You can switch between different drawing files by using
the file tabs. Also, you can open a new file by using the + button, easily.
Graphics Window
 Graphics window is the blank space located below the file tabs.

 You can draw objects and create 3D graphics in the graphics window.

 The top left corner of the graphics 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 Show
Motion.
Command line
 The command line is located below the graphics 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 helps you to activate commands very easily and increases your

productivity.
 Also, the command line shows the current state of the drawing.
 It shows various prompts while working with any command.
 These prompts are series of steps needed to successfully execute a command.
 For example, when you activate the LINE command, the command line displays a
prompt, “Specify the first point”.
 You need to click in the graphics 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. You can display more buttons on the status
bar by clicking the Customization button at the bottom right corner and
selecting the options from the menu.
 Use of Mouse for AutoCAD software
Mouse is required to be dragged to create a window or to displace an object from one
location to another location
 Scroll wheel
 Left button
 To zoom in and zoom out
 To select object
 To move space (pan)
 To select location
 To create a window
 Right button
 Instead of Enter Key this is used, wherever [Enter] instruction is given.
 To cancel current command.
 To carry forward just previous command used instead of typing the same.
 Set Grid and Snap Values
 Grid is a rectangular pattern of lines over the drawing area.
 The grid helps you align and visualize the distance between objects.
 The grid does not appear in the plotted drawing.
 Snap restricts the movement of the crosshairs cursor to an interval
that you define.
 When Snap mode is on, the cursor adheres or “snaps” to an invisible
grid.
 Snap mode is useful for specifying precise points with the cursor
 To set grid spacing
 On the status bar, right-click the Grid button.
Click Settings.
 In the Drafting Settings dialog box, Snap and Grid
tab, ensure that Grid On (F7) is selected
 Under Grid Spacing, do the following:

 In the Grid X Spacing box, enter 0.5000

to set the horizontal grid spacing in units.
 In the Grid Y Spacing box, enter 0.5000 to
set the vertical grid spacing in units.
 Click OK.
 To set snap spacing

1. On the status bar, right-click the Snap Mode button and click Settings.

2. In the Drafting Settings dialog box, Snap and Grid tab, ensure that
Snap On (F9) is selected.

3. Under Snap Spacing, do the following:

 In the Snap X Spacing box, enter 0.5000 to set the horizontal snap

spacing value in units.

In the Snap Y Spacing box, enter 0.5000 to set the vertical snap
spacing value in units.
4. Click OK.
 Snap Mode (F9)

 The Snap mode aligns pointer only with the Grid points.
 When you turn ON this button, the pointer will be able to select only the Grid points.

Grid Display (F7)

 It turns the Grid display ON or OFF.

 You can set the spacing between the grid lines by clicking the drown arrow next to the Snap Mode
button and selecting the Snap Settings option.
 You can use grid lines along with the Snap Mode to draw objects easily and accurately.
Ortho Mode (F8)
 It turns the Ortho Mode ON or OFF.
 When the Ortho Mode is ON, only horizontal or vertical lines can be drawn.
 Polar Tracking (F10)

 This icon turns ON or OFF the Polar Tracking.

 When the Polar Tracking is turned ON, you can draw lines easily at regular angular
increments, such as 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, or 90 degrees.

 You will notice that a trace line is displayed when the pointer is at a particular angular
increment.

 You can set the angular increment by clicking the down arrow next to this button and
selecting the required angle.
 Object Snap (F3)

 This icon turns ON or OFF the Object Snap mode.

 When this mode is turned ON, you can easily select the key points of objects such as endpoints,
midpoint, and center point and so on.
 Object Snap Tracking (F11)

 This icon is used to turn ON or OFF the Object Snap Tracking mode.

 When this mode is turned ON, you can easily select points by using the trace lines
originating from the key points.

Dynamic UCS (F6)

 This icon turns ON/OFF the Dynamic UCS.
 When the Dynamic UCS is turned ON, you can draw and create objects on any face of a 3D
Model, dynamically.
 Dynamic Input (F12)

 This icon turns ON or OFF the Dynamic Input mode.

 When this mode is turned ON, a dynamic input box is attached to the pointer along with a prompt.
 You can directly enter a value in the dynamic input box.
 You can use Dynamic Input in place of command line.
 Some Common Commands
2D Commands  3D Commands
 Extrude  press pull
 Line  Union  revolve
 Rectangle  Subtract  loft
 Circle  3D Rotate  sweep
 Polyline
 Trim  Helpful Commands
 Extend  Units
 Offset  Properties
 Move  Measure
 Mirror  Dimension
 Scale
 Rotate
 BLOCKS
 Blocks are groups of entities saved as a single unit.
 They are used to save shapes and groups of shapes that are
used frequently when creating drawings.
 Once created, blocks can be inserted into the drawings,
thereby saving drawing time.
 The Insert Block tool is also located on the Draw toolbar and
as an option found on the Insert commands accessed by
clicking the large A.
 TEXT
Text is added to a drawing using the Multiline Text tool found on the Draw toolbar.
To use the Multiline Text tool
Text can be moved to different locations on the drawing screen using the Move
command.
1. Select the Multiline Text tool from the Draw toolbar.
2. Select or define a point. The area you are about to define is for the entire text
entry.
3. Define the other corner of the area. The Text Formatting dialog box will appear.
4. Type in your text, then select the OK box. The text will be located on the drawing
screen within the specified area.
 Attributes
 Attributes are sections of text added to a block that prompt the drawer to add
information to the drawing.
 For example, a title block may have an attribute that prompts the illustrator to add
the date to the title block as it is inserted into a drawing.
 Attributes have their own toolbar
 There are three primary components to attributes definition:
1. Unique tag
2. A prompt
3. A default value
 Dimension
Dimension is a numerical value expressed in appropriate units of measurement
and used to define the size, location, orientation, form or other geometric
characteristics of a part.

Different kinds:
– Linear
– Aligned
– Angular
– Radius/Diameter
 Common terms in dimension terminology
1. Dimension lines: lines between extension lines that end with arrowheads and
include a numerical dimensional value located within the line.
2. Extension lines: Lines that extend away from an object and allow dimensions to
be located off the surface of an object.
3. Center Line: To represents the center of the cylindrical part of
a picture.
4. Leader lines: Lines drawn at an angle, not horizontal or vertical, that are used
to dimension specific shapes such as holes. The start point of a leader line
includes an arrowhead. Numerical values are drawn at the end opposite the
arrowhead.
 To create a dimension on an object
1. Select the Linear tool from the Dimension toolbar.
2. Select the starting point for the first extension line.
3. Select the starting point for the second extension
line.
4. Locate the dimension line by moving the crosshairs
to the desired location.
5. Press the left mouse button to place the dimension.