Auto CAD Made Simple

Lets Learn Auto CAD

  Before you begin to use the software, you need to become familiar with the interface and some of the
  core functionality and features.

Navigating the Working Environment

The working environment and the types of interface elements that you must
become familiar with if you are to become proficient in the software.Before you begin creating drawings, you should familiarize yourself with the interface

1. Application Menu
2. Quick Access Toolbar
3. Info center
4. Title Bar
5. Ribbon
6. Drawing Area
7. Crosshairs
8. Command Window
9. Status Bar

1.  Application Menu

You can use the Application Menu to access several key commands such as New, Open,                                                                                Save, Print, and Close. Most of these commands lead to sub menus that give you more detailed options.

2. Quick Access Toolbar

Store commands that you frequently access in AutoCAD. By default, you can access New, Open, Save, Plot, Undo, and Redo from the Quick Access toolbar. Add commands to the Quick Access toolbar using the shortcut menus of all commands on the ribbon, menu browser, and toolbars.

3. Info Centre

Search for information through keywords or phrases, display the Communication Center panel for product updates and announcements, or display the Favorites panel to access saved topics. You can also receive information from RSS feeds to which you subscribe, or feeds published by your CAD manager.

4. Title Bar

In addition to housing the Application Menu button, the title bar contains the Quick                                                        

Access toolbar and the Info Center.

5. Ribbon

On the top of the AutoCAD window, just below the title bar, is a wide area called the Ribbon.

 It provides easy access to many AutoCAD tools with tabs, panels, and buttons.

   In AutoCAD, a panel is a grouping of buttons for  In the Home tab of the Ribbon, the Draw,

   Modify, LayersAnnotation, Block, Properties, Groups, Utilities, and Clipboard panels are

displayed.

6. Drawing Area\Graphical Area

    The graphical area is the area of the interface where your drawing is shown. There are two  

Scroll bars, one on the right side (vertical) allow you to scroll the diagram vertically.And

The other at the bottom (horizontal) allows you to scroll the diagram horizontally

7. Crosshair

   As you move the pointing device in the drawing area, notice that the pointer becomes a special cursor

Called the crosshairs. You will use the crosshairs to pick points and select objects in the drawing area. 

.  When you move outside the drawing area, the normal Windows pointer appears.

8. Command Window

    Notice the Command Line window near the bottom of the screen. you can enter AutoCAD   commands at the Command line window. However, in many cases, it is faster and easier to use buttons on the Ribbon and on toolbars, or to use dynamic input.

9. Status Bar

   View the coordinate values of your cursor, and access several buttons for turning drawing   tools on and off, as well as many display tools used to scale annotations