AutoCAD Keyboard Shortcuts Guide and Command Reference
Overview of AutoCAD Keyboard Shortcuts
AutoCAD provides a wide selection of keyboard shortcuts, function key toggles, hot keys, and screen management commands designed to streamline drafting, modeling, and workflow execution.
One-Key Shortcuts: Quick single-letter keyboard commands mapped to essential drafting tools.
Function Keys (F1–F12): Immediate toggles for drawing modes, aids, and interface views.
Screen Management & Workflow Keys: Control shortcuts for toggling palettes, system modes, drawing navigation, and file operations.
Hot Keys A–Z: Alphabetical command aliases for execution from the command line.
One-Key Shortcuts
Single-key shortcuts offer rapid execution for the most common AutoCAD tools:
Q:
QSAVE— Saves the current drawing.W:
WBLOCK— Writes objects or a block to a new drawing file.E:
ERASE— Removes objects from a drawing.R:
REDRAW— Refreshes the display in the current viewport.T:
MTEXT— Creates a multiline text object.A:
ARC— Creates an arc.S:
STRETCH— Stretches objects crossed by a selection window or polygon.D:
DIMSTYLE— Creates and modifies dimension styles.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.J:
JOIN— Joins similar objects to form a single, unbroken object.L:
LINE— Creates straight line segments.Z:
ZOOM— Increases or decreases the magnification of the view in the current viewport.X:
EXPLODE— Breaks a compound object into its component objects.C:
CIRCLE— Creates a circle.V:
VIEW— Saves and restores named views, camera views, layout views, and preset views.B:
BLOCK— Creates a block definition from selected objects.M:
MOVE— Moves objects a specified distance in a specified direction.I:
INSERT— Inserts a block or drawing into the current drawing.O:
OFFSET— Creates concentric circles, parallel lines, and parallel curves.P:
PAN— Adds a parameter with grips to a dynamic block definition.
Function Keys and Quick Toggles
Function keys control critical drawing aids and drafting modes:
F1: Display Help — Opens the AutoCAD help system.
F2: Toggle text screen — Opens or closes the command text history window.
F3: Toggle object snap mode — Turns 2D Object Snap (
OSNAP) on or off.F4: Toggle 3DOsnap — Turns 3D Object Snap on or off.
F5: Toggle Isoplane — Cycles through isometric planes (Top, Right, Left).
F6: Toggle Dynamic UCS — Turns Dynamic User Coordinate System on or off.
F7: Toggle grid mode — Displays or hides the drawing grid background.
F8: Toggle ortho mode — Locks cursor movement to horizontal or vertical axes.
F9: Toggle snap mode — Restricts cursor movement to specified grid intervals.
F10: Toggle polar mode — Guides cursor movement along specified polar angles.
F11: Toggle object snap tracking — Tracks cursor along object snap alignment paths.
F12: Toggle dynamic input mode — Displays command prompts and input fields at the cursor.
Toggles and Screen Management
Toggle General Features
Ctrl + d: Toggle coordinate displayCtrl + g: Toggle GridCtrl + e: Cycle isometric planesCtrl + f: Toggle running object snapsCtrl + h: Toggle Pick StyleCtrl + Shift + h: Toggle Hide palettesCtrl + i: Toggle CoordsCtrl + Shift + i: Toggle Infer Constraints
Toggle Drawing Modes
F1: Display HelpF2: Toggle text screenF3: Toggle object snap modeF4: Toggle 3DOsnapF5: Toggle IsoplaneF6: Toggle Dynamic UCSF7: Toggle grid modeF8: Toggle ortho modeF9: Toggle snap modeF10: Toggle polar modeF11: Toggle object snap trackingF12: Toggle dynamic input mode
Manage Screen
Ctrl + 0: Clean Screen (toggles full screen / hides ribbon & toolbars)Ctrl + 1: Property PaletteCtrl + 2: Design Center PaletteCtrl + 3: Tool PaletteCtrl + 4: Sheet Set PaletteCtrl + 6: DBConnect ManagerCtrl + 7: Markup Set Manager PaletteCtrl + 8: Quick CalcCtrl + 9: Command Line
Manage Workflow
Ctrl + c: Copy objectCtrl + x: Cut objectCtrl + v: Paste objectCtrl + Shift + c: Copy to clipboard with base pointCtrl + Shift + v: Paste data as blockCtrl + z: Undo last actionCtrl + y: Redo last actionCtrl + [orCtrl + \: Cancel current commandESC: Cancel current command
Manage Drawings
Ctrl + n: New DrawingCtrl + s: Save drawingCtrl + o: Open drawingCtrl + p: Plot dialog boxCtrl + Tab: Switch to next drawingCtrl + Shift + Tab: Switch to previous drawingCtrl + Page Up: Switch to previous tab in current drawingCtrl + Page Down: Switch to next tab in current drawingCtrl + q: ExitCtrl + a: Select all objects
Hot Keys A–Z Command Reference
Hot Keys: 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, xrefs, 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.ARM:
ACTUSERMESSAGE— Inserts a user message into an action macro.ARU:
ACTUSERINPUT— Pauses for user input in an action macro.ARS:
ACTSTOP— Stops the Action Recorder and provides the option of saving the recorded actions to an action macro file.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.
Hot Keys: 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.
Hot Keys: 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 toolbar-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:
CHECKSTANDARDS— Checks the current drawing for standards violations.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 ViewCube tool.CYL:
CYLINDER— Creates a 3D solid cylinder.
Hot Keys: D
D:
DIMSTYLE— Creates and modifies dimension styles.DAN:
DIMANGULAR— Creates an angular dimension.DAR:
DIMARC— Creates an arc length dimension.DBA:
DIMBASELINE— Creates a linear, angular, or 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 evenly spaced point objects or blocks along the length or perimeter of an object.DJL:
DIMJOGLINE— Adds or removes 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 filled circle or a wide ring.DOR:
DIMORDINATE— Creates ordinate dimensions.DOV:
DIMOVERRIDE— Controls overrides of system variables used in 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.DRE:
DIMREASSOCIATE— Associates or re-associates 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.
Hot Keys: E–F
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:
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.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 space.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.
Hot Keys: G–H
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.GEO:
GEOGRAPHICLOCATION— Specifies the geographic location information for a drawing file.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.
Hot Keys: I–K
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 a linked or embedded object.J:
JOIN— Joins similar objects to form a single, unbroken object.JOG:
DIMJOGGED— Creates jogged dimensions for circles and arcs.
Hot Keys: 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:
LENGTHEN— Changes the length of objects and the included angle of arcs.LESS:
MESHSMOOTHLESS— Decreases the level of smoothness for mesh 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.LTS:
LTSCALE— Changes the scale factor of linetypes for all objects in a drawing.LW:
LWEIGHT— Sets the current lineweight, lineweight display options, and lineweight units.
Hot Keys: 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.MLA:
MLEADERALIGN— Aligns and spaces selected multileader objects.MLC:
MLEADERCOLLECT— Organizes selected multileaders that contain blocks into rows or columns, and displays the result with a single leader.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.MORE:
MESHSMOOTHMORE— Increases the level of smoothness for mesh 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.
Hot Keys: N–O
NORTH:
GEOGRAPHICLOCATION— Specifies the geographic location information for a drawing file.NSHOT:
NEWSHOT— Creates a named view with motion that is played back when viewed with ShowMotion.NVIEW:
NEWVIEW— Creates a named view with no motion.O:
OFFSET— Creates concentric circles, parallel lines, and parallel curves.OP:
OPTIONS— Customizes the program settings.ORBIT:
3DORBIT— Rotates the view in 3D space, but constrained to horizontal and vertical orbit only.OS:
OSNAP— Sets running object snap modes.
Hot Keys: P
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 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.PTW:
PUBLISHTOWEB— Creates HTML pages that include images of selected drawings.PU:
PURGE— Removes unused items, such as block definitions and layers, from the drawing.PYR:
PYRAMID— Creates a 3D solid pyramid.
Hot Keys: Q
QC:
QUICKCALC— Opens the QuickCalc calculator.QCUI:
QUICKCUI— Displays the Customize User Interface Editor in a collapsed state.QP:
QUICKPROPERTIES— Displays open drawings and layouts in a drawing in preview images.QSAVE:
QSAVE— Saves the current drawing.QVD:
QVDRAWING— Displays open drawings and layouts in a drawing using preview images.QVDC:
QVDRAWINGCLOSE— Closes preview images of open drawings and layouts in a drawing.QVL:
QVLAYOUT— Displays preview images of model space and layouts in a drawing.QVLC:
QVLAYOUTCLOSE— Closes preview images of model space and layouts in the current drawing.
Hot Keys: 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:
RECTANG— 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.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.
Hot Keys: 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 a cutting 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.STA:
STANDARDS— Manages the association of standards files with drawings.SU:
SUBTRACT— Combines selected 3D solids, surfaces, or 2D regions by subtraction.
Hot Keys: 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.TEDIT:
TEXTEDIT— Edits a dimensional constraint, dimension, or text object.TH:
THICKNESS— Sets the default 3D thickness property when creating 2D geometric objects.TI:
TILEMODE— Controls whether paper space can be accessed.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.
Hot Keys: U–W
UC:
UCSMAN— Manages defined user coordinate systems.UN:
UNITS— Controls coordinate and angle display formats and precision.UNHIDE / UNISOLATE:
UNISOLATEOBJECTS— Displays objects previously hidden with theISOLATEOBJECTSorHIDEOBJECTScommand.UNI:
UNION— Unions two solid or two region objects.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:
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.
Hot Keys: X–Z
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 theEXTERNALREFERENCEScommand.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.
Printable Keyboard Stickers Specification
Sticker Sets: Includes 4 complete sets of printable keyboard shortcuts.
Compatibility Template: Formatted for use with OnlineLabels template:
http://www.onlinelabels.com/OL32.htm.