AutoCAD Basics and Interface

AutoCAD Interface and Basic Tools

Start Screen

• Upon opening AutoCAD, the start screen appears.
• It displays recent documents for easy access.
• If no previous work exists, the recent documents section will be empty.
• To begin a new drawing, click "start drawing."

User Interface

• The top row contains icons for various tools.
• Clicking the large "A" button in the top left corner reveals a menu with options to:
  • Create a new file.
  • Open an existing file.
  • Save files.
  • Export files.
  • Publish files.
  • Print files.

Ribbon Menu

• The ribbon menu is located under the large "A" button.
• It consists of tabs that categorize tools.
• Learning command shortcuts speeds up the drawing process.

Home Tab

• The home tab is the most frequently used tab.

Insert Tab

• The insert tab contains tools used occasionally.

Annotate Tab

• The annotate tab is used regularly.

Additional Panels

• Extra floating panels might appear due to using AutoCAD Architecture or default settings.
• Close unnecessary panels to clean up the screen.

AutoCAD Architecture

• AutoCAD Architecture includes three-dimensional tools like wall and door.
• The course focuses on two-dimensional drawings rather than three-dimensional modeling.
• AutoCAD is not optimal for three-dimensional modeling compared to other software.
• Learning two-dimensional drawing is a prerequisite for three-dimensional modeling.

Hiding 3D Tools

• The built tab with three-dimensional tools is ignored in this course.
• Switching between different profiles may hide three-dimensional tools.
• The instructor will switch between AutoCAD versions to demonstrate tool locations.

Course Website and Basic Commands

• The course website provides an AutoCAD basic commands PDF.
• The PDF will be used to explain the tools before drawing a building.

Main Viewport

• The grid represents the main two-dimensional viewport.
• The box enables switching to a three-dimensional view, but it should be reverted to two-dimensional.
• Click the top of the box to return to the two-dimensional view (North, South, East, West, Top).

View Navigation

• Panning the view is achieved by clicking and holding the scroll wheel.
• Scrolling the wheel zooms in and out of the view.
• Zooming is centered around the cursor's location.

Object Selection

• Objects are selected by clicking and dragging the mouse.
• The default smart selection or lasso tool is not preferred.

Disabling Lasso Selection

• To disable the lasso selection, type "options" in the command line and hit enter.
• In the options menu, go to the selection tab.
• Untick "allow press and drag for lasso."
• Apply the changes and click okay.
• A blue rectangle selects objects entirely within it.
• A green rectangle selects objects inside and those it crosses.

Model and Layout Space

• Model space and layout space will be discussed in a later tutorial.

Units and Measurements

• To set the units, type "units" in the command line and hit enter.
• Ensure the drawing units are set to millimeters.
• Set the desired precision for drawing, such as $0.0000$ millimeters.
• Ensure the angle is set to degrees.
• Set the precision for degrees, such as $0.0$.

Line Tool

• The line tool is located in the home tab or can be activated by typing "L" and pressing enter.
• The command line prompts for the first point.
• Click to specify the start and subsequent points.
• Press enter to finish the command.
• Individual line segments are highlighted upon hovering.
• Escape unselects selected lines.

Selecting Multiple Lines

• Drag a rectangle to select multiple lines.
• The blue rectangle selects only lines completely inside it.
• The green rectangle selects lines inside and those it crosses.

Deleting Objects

• Select objects and press the delete button or backspace on Mac.
• Alternatively, type "erase" in the command line and hit enter.

Precise Line Dimensions

• After specifying the first point, type the desired length before clicking to create a line of that length.

Orthographic Snapping

• Orthographic snapping (ortho mode) restricts lines to horizontal or vertical orientations.
• Toggle ortho mode by pressing F8 or clicking the ortho mode icon.
• With ortho mode on, lines are locked to horizontal or vertical positions.

Polyline Tool

• The polyline tool creates a chain of connected lines.
• The shortcut for the polyline tool is "PL" followed by enter.
• Polylines are convenient for selection purposes.

Exploding and Joining Polylines

• To explode a polyline into individual lines, select it and type "explode" and hit enter.
• To join multiple lines into a polyline, select them and type "join" and hit enter.
• "Control + Z" performs an undo, while "Control + Y" performs a redo.

Advanced Polyline

• While drawing a polyline, type "A" and hit enter to switch to arc mode.
• Type "L" and hit enter to switch back to line mode.

Circle Tool

• The shortcut for the circle tool is "C" followed by enter.
• Click to specify the center and type the desired radius.
• The 3P option allows creating a circle by specifying three points.

Arc Tool

• The shortcut for the arc tool is "A" followed by enter.
• Specify the start point, second point, and end point of the arc.
• Hitting enter repeats the last command.
• The center option allows creating an arc from its center point.

Rectangle Tool

• The shortcut for the rectangle tool is "REC" followed by enter.
• Click to specify the first corner point.
• Choose the dimensions option to specify length and width.
• Specify the length and width, then click to specify the alignment of the rectangle.

Object Snapping

• Object snapping allows snapping to specific parts of objects, such as endpoints, midpoints, and centers.
• The object snap tool (OSNAP) is located at the bottom of the screen.
• Click the small arrow to expand the menu and select the desired snap points.

Endpoint Snapping

• Enable endpoint snapping to snap to the endpoints of lines.
• When the cursor is near an endpoint, a green icon appears.

Midpoint Snapping

• Enable midpoint snapping to snap to the midpoint of lines.
• When the cursor is near the midpoint, a triangular mark appears.

Center Snapping

• Enable center snapping to snap to the center of circles and arcs.
• When the cursor is near the center, a green circle mark appears.

Geometric Center Snapping

• Geometric center snapping is used for closed shapes like rectangles.
• It allows snapping to the geometric center of the shape.