getting started with autocad

Chapter 1 Getting Started with AutoCAD 3 Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:37 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen 4 AutoCAD 2002: The Complete Reference Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 T his chapter takes you on a tour of AutoCAD and provides an overview of the different components of the AutoCAD screen. It teaches you about AutoCAD’s drawing environment, how to start commands, and how to open existing drawings. As you will see, AutoCAD provides many different ways to accomplish the same task. For example, to activate a command, you can select it from a menu or a toolbar, or type the command name at AutoCAD’s command prompt. There is no right or wrong way to do something in AutoCAD. As you become more familiar with the program, you will develop techniques that you find most comfortable for the way you work and the types of drawings you create. Once you become proficient, you may want to customize AutoCAD for your particular needs. There are also many common drafting tasks that can be automated by using scripts and macros, or by writing or purchasing add-on applications that run inside AutoCAD, tailoring the program for specific drafting and design disciplines. While this book will not teach you how to write custom programs, you will learn how to customize many AutoCAD features and utilize third-party add-ons. AutoCAD’s open architecture enables it to be customized to suit your individual needs, and once you have used it for a while, you’ll be able to make the most of its amazing capabilities. But we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves. First, let’s learn the basics. This chapter explains the following concepts: ■ Starting AutoCAD ■ Understanding the AutoCAD interface ■ Selecting commands ■ Correcting mistakes ■ Getting online help ■ Opening existing drawings ■ Working with multiple drawings ■ Using Partial Open and Partial Load ■ Saving your work ■ Exiting from AutoCAD Starting AutoCAD This chapter assumes that you have already installed AutoCAD. If you are going to work in AutoCAD as you follow along in this book, you should install AutoCAD now, before proceeding. Installing AutoCAD 2002 is quite simple, particularly compared to earlier versions of the program. An easy-to-use Setup program guides you through the AutoCAD installation process, transferring the files from the CD-ROM to a folder it creates on your hard disk. The Setup program also creates a menu item on the Windows Start menu, and a shortcut icon on your desktop. If you need additional help installing AutoCAD, see Appendix C. Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:37 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 AUTOCAD BASICS Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD 5 Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 You can start AutoCAD by choosing it in the Start menu or by double-clicking the AutoCAD 2002 icon on the Windows desktop. To start AutoCAD from the Start menu, choose Start | Programs | AutoCAD 2002 | AutoCAD 2002. The first time you start AutoCAD, the program displays the Authorization wizard, in which you provide the authorization code to unlock your copy of AutoCAD. You register your copy of AutoCAD and obtain this authorization code from Autodesk, either via the Web or by e-mail, phone, fax, or mail. If you elect to authorize AutoCAD at this time, the wizard guides you through the process, offering options such as connecting to Autodesk’s registration web site, automatically generating an e-mail message, displaying the proper phone numbers, or printing a registration form that you can fax or mail to Autodesk. If you decide to defer this process until a later time, you can begin using AutoCAD now. You have 15 days from the first time you start AutoCAD in which to register and authorize your copy. The Authorization wizard appears every time you start AutoCAD until you have registered your copy and obtained your authorization code. Once you obtain the code, write it down and save it along with your AutoCAD 2002 CD-ROM, in case you ever need to reinstall the software. When you start AutoCAD, the program displays the AutoCAD 2002 Today window. This window provides tools to help you start a new drawing, load symbol libraries, access an online bulletin board for design collaboration within your company, and use the Autodesk Point A design portal. You’ll learn more about this window later in this chapter (see Figure 1-17). For now, click the Close button to dismiss the AutoCAD 2002 Today window. The AutoCAD 2002 Today window serves as the default startup dialog box whenever you start AutoCAD or begin a new drawing. If you prefer, you can reconfigure AutoCAD to use a more traditional style startup dialog box, similar to the one used in earlier versions, by changing the Startup setting on the System tab of the Options dialog box. Understanding the AutoCAD Interface The AutoCAD screen is divided into six distinct areas: ■ Title bar ■ Menu bar ■ Toolbars ■ Document window or drawing area ■ Command window ■ Status bar Figure 1-1 shows the typical layout of the AutoCAD screen. Most of these components are standard Windows features. For example, the title bar along the P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:38 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen top of the window shows the name of the program, AutoCAD 2002. The name of the current drawing (or “Drawing1,” if the current drawing has not been saved) appears in the title bar of the document window. Each open drawing has its own document window. If the document window has been maximized, the name of the current drawing appears in the main AutoCAD window title bar, enclosed within square brackets. The menu bar, located directly below the title bar, provides pull-down menus from which you can choose commands. You can also activate commands by clicking the buttons on the various toolbars. The status bar along the bottom of the screen shows the coordinates of the screen cursor as well as the current setting of various AutoCAD program modes. You’ll learn more about the status bar later in the chapter. 6 AutoCAD 2002: The Complete Reference Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 Figure 1-1. The typical layout of the AutoCAD screen Title bar Menu bar Toolbars Document window (drawing area) Command windowStatus bar P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:38 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen By default, AutoCAD now displays the full drawing filename, including the drive and full path, in the title bar. This option is controlled in the File Open area of the Open and Save tab of the Options dialog box. The command window is one component of AutoCAD that does not have an equivalent in most other Windows programs. You can start any AutoCAD command by typing the command and then pressing ENTER. Some of the components always appear in the same location. Others, such as the toolbars and command window, can be turned off or relocated anywhere on your Windows desktop. Figure 1-2 shows an AutoCAD screen in which some of these components have been rearranged. The document window, or drawing area, occupies most of the screen. This is the area in which you actually create your drawing. (Remember that you can have more than one drawing open at a time. Each has its own document window.) Notice that there are Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD 7 Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 AUTOCAD BASICS Figure 1-2. The AutoCAD screen after rearranging several of the components P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:39 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen 8 AutoCAD 2002: The Complete Reference Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 two other elements within this window: an icon with two arrows pointing at 90-degree angles, and an icon that looks like a small plus sign (+) with a box at its center. These are the User Coordinate System (UCS) icon and the drawing cursor, respectively. UCS Icon The UCS icon helps you understand how your drawing is oriented. The icon consists of two arrows, one pointing to the right and one pointing to the top of the drawing area. Notice that one arrow is labeled X and the other Y. These labels indicate the current orientation of the drawing’s X and Y axes. Notice, too, the inclusion of a square where the two arrows intersect. This indicates that the UCS corresponds to the World Coordinate System (WCS). You will learn more about coordinates and coordinate systems in Chapter 6. The UCS icon looks considerably different than it did in earlier versions of AutoCAD. Although the new icon is much more intuitive, you can change the appearance of the icon to that used in earlier versions, as described in Chapter 6. Crosshairs, Pickbox, and Cursor Notice that the drawing cursor moves around the screen as you move the mouse. You use the cursor for selecting points or objects within the drawing area. The appearance of the cursor changes depending on which AutoCAD command is currently active or where you move the cursor within the AutoCAD screen. By default, the cursor appears as a small plus sign with a box at its center. The point at which the crosshairs meet is the actual cursor position and corresponds to a specific point within the AutoCAD drawing. The box, called a pickbox, is used to select objects within the drawing. When you activate an AutoCAD command used to create a new object, such as the LINE command (used to draw lines), the pickbox disappears, leaving just the Crosshairs Pickbox P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:39 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen crosshairs. Move the cursor to a start position in the drawing area and click to select that point. Then, move the cursor to a different position corresponding to the end point of the line and click again to select the end point of the line. The line is drawn. Throughout this book, the term click is used to mean pressing the left-mouse button (or the pick button on a multibutton digitizer puck) one time. Double-click means to click the left-mouse button twice in quick succession. Right-click means to click the right-mouse button (or button two on a multibutton puck), and SHIFT-right-click means that you should press the SHIFT key while simultaneously clicking the right-mouse button. Drag means that you should press and hold down the left-mouse button while moving the mouse. If you activate a command to modify an existing object, such as the ERASE command, the crosshairs disappear, leaving just the pickbox. You can then select the object to be erased by moving the cursor so that the pickbox is over the object, and clicking to select the object. To ensure accuracy when selecting points with the drawing cursor, you can use AutoCAD’s object snap modes to snap the crosshairs to a specific point on an existing object, such as the end point of a line or the center of a circle. When an object snap mode is active, the cursor appears with both the crosshairs and a slightly different pickbox, called an aperture box. When prompted to select a point, move the cursor so that the aperture box falls over a line. As you click the cursor, it automatically snaps to the end point of the line. If you move the cursor outside the drawing area, the cursor changes to one of several standard Windows pointers. For example, when moving the cursor over a toolbar or the status bar, the cursor changes to a Windows arrow. You can then select a command by clicking the toolbar button or menu command. Status Bar The status bar at the bottom of the AutoCAD screen displays both the current cursor position and the status of various AutoCAD modes (see Figure 1-3). The cursor position displays as either X, Y, Z coordinates or, when certain drawing commands are active, as a distance and angle relative to the last point selected. As you move the cursor, the coordinates update automatically. You can toggle the automatic coordinate display on and off by clicking within the coordinate display area, or by pressing the F6 function key. The other option buttons on the status bar indicate the current Snap mode, grid display, Ortho mode, polar tracking, object snap, and object snap tracking settings, whether lineweights are visible, and the current drawing space (model space or paper space). You can toggle these modes on and off by clicking the appropriate button. You’ll learn more about these modes in Chapter 2. When you move the cursor over a toolbar or menu command, the status bar changes to display information about the selected command (see Figure 1-4). Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD 9 Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 AUTOCAD BASICS P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:40 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen 10 AutoCAD 2002: The Complete Reference Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 Figure 1-3. The components of the status bar Show/Hide lineweight Model or paper space Object snap tracking Object snap Polar tracking Ortho mode Grid display Snap mode Cursor coordinates Figure 1-4. The status bar showing information about the current command Information about the command The actual command name you can enter at the command prompt P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:40 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD 11 Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 AUTOCAD BASICS If you look carefully at the command description on the status bar, you’ll see a single word to the right of the colon at the end of the description. This is the actual AutoCAD command. You can activate the command by typing this command name at the AutoCAD command prompt, described later in this chapter. The names used for commands in the menus may be different from the actual command names. Pull-Down Menus Most AutoCAD commands, as well as numerous standard Windows functions, are available from pull-down menus on the menu bar. These menus are arranged in a hierarchical fashion. For example, all commands for opening, saving, and printing drawings (which are standard Windows functions) are available in the File pull-down menu. Commands for drawing new AutoCAD objects are found in the Draw pull-down menu. Figure 1-5 shows a typical pull-down menu. Notice that some menu items display a small black arrow to the right of the command name. Clicking such a command or item expands the menu to display a cascading submenu containing additional options to the command or a collection of related commands. Other menu items have an ellipsis (three dots) immediately following the command name. This indicates that by selecting the command, a dialog box will be displayed. Pull-down menus often contain other components. An underlined letter on a menu corresponds to the access key, which you can type from the keyboard to start the command. To display a pull-down menu, press the ALT key in combination with the access key that is shown for the menu name. Shortcut keys indicate a keyboard key or a key combination that invokes a particular command without requiring the use of a menu, such as F2 to display AutoCAD’s Text window, or CTRL-C to copy objects to the Windows Clipboard. Although you might not use access keys and shortcut keys at first, as you become more familiar with AutoCAD, you will likely use these faster alternatives for starting AutoCAD commands. Notice that the pull-down menu also contains separators, lines that help divide the commands into logical groups of related commands. For example, the Zoom, Pan, and Aerial View commands all can be used to change the way the drawing is displayed, and thus are grouped together. Although not shown in Figure 1-5, sometimes a command cannot be used. For example, the REDO command can be used only immediately after using the UNDO command. When a command is unavailable, it appears dimmed or grayed. Also, notice that in the UCS Icon submenu, the On and Origin selections appear with a check mark. A command or option preceded by a check mark indicates that the command or option can be turned on or off. P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:41 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen 12 AutoCAD 2002: The Complete Reference Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 Shortcut Menus The shortcut menus are special menus that display at the cursor position when you press the right-mouse button. Shortcut menus are completely context-sensitive. The functions displayed in the menu vary depending on the location of the cursor when you right-click, the type of object selected, and whether an AutoCAD command is active. If you press the SHIFT key and right-click at the same time, AutoCAD displays the Object Snap shortcut menu. Figure 1-5. A typical pull-down menu, expanded to show the UCS Icon submenu Command separator Checked command (indicates that the option is selected) Submenu Menu name Access key (underlined letter) Shortcut key Click to display dialog box Click to display submenu P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:41 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen [...]... 5:05:56 PM 35 AUTOCAD BASICS Specify the file type Getting Started with AutoCAD Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen 36 Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 AutoCAD 2002: The Complete Reference Click to open drawing Click to display Select File dialog box Select method used to sort drawings Click to expand list of drawings Figure 1-17 The AutoCAD. .. Default screen Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD You can use the Partial Open option to open just a portion of a drawing file, thus improving AutoCAD s performance when working with a large drawing file When you use the Partial Open option to open a drawing, you load only the geometry contained within a previously saved view and on... screen Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD 13 AUTOCAD BASICS If you are using an IntelliMouse or a three-button mouse, pressing the middle button either displays the Object Snap shortcut menu or activates real-time panning, depending on the current value of the MBUTTONPAN system variable Toolbars When you start AutoCAD for the first time,... P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:54 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD Now that you’re more familiar with the AutoCAD environment, you are ready to learn how to open an existing drawing Since it often takes several days to complete a detailed drawing,... P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:46 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD Although it does not initially appear, AutoCAD has an additional screen component that you can display and use for starting commands The screen menu (sometimes called the side menu)... Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 AutoCAD 2002: The Complete Reference Digitizers provide another capability in AutoCAD in addition to tracing paper drawings AutoCAD comes with a sample drawing called Tablet 2000.dwg You can plot a copy of this drawing and attach it to your digitizer This digitizer template includes a screen pointing area and numerous rectangular areas filled with icons... the ALT key in combination with the appropriate access key to open a specific pull-down menu and then press the access key for the desired command P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:48 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD 23 To use a command... / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD When entering commands from the command line, you can type MULTIPLE before starting some commands (such as CIRCLE or ARC) to repeat a command indefinitely When you are done with the command, press ESC You can repeat any command you have used during the current AutoCAD session by using the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys... command immediately after using the U or UNDO command Getting Online Help AutoCAD includes an online Help system containing all the printed documentation that comes with AutoCAD as well as various additional documents supplied only in electronic form You can get help about any AutoCAD command or topic by using the online Help system To display AutoCAD s online Help system, do one of the following:... P:\010Comp\CompRef8\429-0\ch01.vp Monday, April 08, 2002 5:05:53 PM Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD 31 AUTOCAD BASICS Figure 1-13 Accessing Help while a command is active displays information about that command To display the Active Assistance window, do one of . Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 AUTOCAD BASICS Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD 5 Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 You can start AutoCAD. Notice that there are Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD 7 Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 AUTOCAD BASICS Figure 1-2. The AutoCAD screen after rearranging. Default screen Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter 1 AUTOCAD BASICS Chapter 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD 17 Complete Reference / AutoCAD: TCR / Cohn / 222429-0 / Chapter