Topics covered in this Lesson:1-11

Topics covered in this Lesson:1-11

Zoom | Pan
So far the tutorials have dealt with drawing and modifying objects. This lesson will be a primer on how to move around in your drawing. With simple drawings like the assignments in Level 1, you didn't have much need for moving around or zooming in your drawing. The more complex your drawing is, the more you will need to master the power of zooming and panning. Mastering these techniques will enable you to be more productive in your drawings and life will be better.

EFFECTIVE ZOOMING CAN DRAMATICALLY INCREASE YOUR SPEED

One single command will give you the versatility to move around your drawing. This is the ZOOM command. Another useful command is PAN. These are both quicker than using the scroll bars on the side of the drawing area, unless you have a very short distance to move your drawing (and can make your scroll bars obsolete and thereby create more drawing space)..

Start the Zoom command by typing Z . When you do this, you will see the following options on the command line:

Command: Z ZOOM
Specify corner of window, enter a scale factor (nX or nXP), or
[All/Center/Dynamic/Extents/Previous/Scale/Window/Object] :

Remember that to invoke any option, just type the capital letter of your choice. (eg: type: E for "zoom extents". The default is "Realtime" which you invoke by pressing . One by one, here are the options available to you.




As you can see there are quite a few options. To begin with I would strongly recommend getting really good at these 3:

Use the Zoom > Extents whenever you want to see all objects.
Use the Zoom > Window option to 'close-in' on one area.
Use the Zoom > Previous option to return to where you were.

I generally use them in conjunction with each other. I'll do a zoom extents to see what state the drawing is at, then perform a Zoom Window to get to the area I need to work in, then do a Zoom Extents when I am done in that area. In between, I may need to use a combination of Zoom Window and Zoom Previous.

Additionally, using your mouse wheel to zoom can be very fast for moving in and out of an area - practice this technique as well.

The zoom command can also be invoked transparently. This means that you can start it up in the middle of a command. For example, if you are in the trim command and want to see a bit more of your drawing, just type 'Z (note the apostrophe) at the command line and you can then zoom using any of the available options. Press to get back to your command.

Also, right clicking while in the zoom command gives you options. Try this and see which choices are available with this.

Exercise: Open one of your previous drawings, or one of the samples that came with your installation of AutoCAD and practice these techniques. You need to be good at this.

Review of Level 1: Everything in this Level will be used in your day to day CAD work. These are the basics that you will draw upon as you advance your skills. You have learned the how the co-ordinate system works and how to enter points so that AutoCAD knows where you want your objects to be. You were shown the most common drawing and modifying commands. You learned techniques for snapping to objects, other ways to input information and how to move around a drawing. For a new user, I cannot stress enough how mastering this level will make you a good drafter. It all comes down to accurate and fast input.

Topics covered in this Lesson:1-10

Topics covered in this Lesson:1-10

Object Properties
Now that you have learned how to draw objects and modify them using special commands, you need to know one more way changing the properties of an object. For instance, you may have made a spelling mistake in your text. You could erase it and re-create it, or you could double-click on it and just correct the error. This process is an extremely important tool to help you with your CAD work

DON'T REDRAW AN OBJECT - CHANGE ITS PROPERTIES

There are a few ways to change, or view an objects properties. First is by using the PROPERTIES command.
The method is quite easy and also the most complete way of viewing properties.

Draw a line from (any point) to (any point) and press (ENTER). This is only time I will not tell you to use specific co-ordinates. :)

Now select the object by clicking on it and pick the properties icon. Once you do this, you should see the properties palette appear showing everything that makes that line what it is.
What you see here is the complete palette. Before you look at the properties, take a moment to examine the palette itself. These are new to later versions of AutoCAD. Since it takes up a large amount of the screen, you have the option to either close it completely ('X' at the top) or collapse or hide the palette (arrows at bottom) for future reference.

Now look at the properties as displayed in the palette. At the top are the 'General' properties - these are common to all AutoCAD objects (they all have them). You will see that one endpoint of the line is shown as the "Start X" and "Start Y" points (X,Y point). If you want to change the location of the X co-ordinate for the Start point, pick in the text area, type a number and press (ENTER). You also have the option of picking new X co-ordinate with the small icon shown above.

Have good look at the palette. Erase the first line, draw another line and then display the new line's properties. You should see different numbers.

Now erase the line and draw a circle. Display the properties and you will see different fields. You will see that the the Start X point has been changed to "Center X". The properties displayed are specific to the object you have selected.

Now draw a line next to the circle. Select both by clicking on one, and then the other. Now display the properties by selecting the icon. You will now see a much short list of properties. This short list will include properties that are common to both objects, such as layer, color, etc.

Now try something different. Erase everything and close the Properties palette. Draw a circle and then select it. Right click on the screen and choose the Properties option at the bottom of the list as shown below:
You'll see the same palette appear - in the same space where you closed it.
OTHER OBJECTS
By now you see how you can view and edit properties of objects you have drawn. Those the methods will work on any object. But what about other objects? Could there be easier ways to edit their properties? You bet!

Enter a line of text like you did in the Lesson 1-8. View the properties like you did in the previous examples. Note again, the various fields. Now try "Double-Clicking" on the text.
Now you can change the text and press (then to end the command). This is a much easier method to change the text's content, but none of the other properties. You could also have changed the text in the Properties palette, but this method is much quicker.

Changing Layers
Many times you will draw an object and find that is on the wrong layer. To change an object's layer, you can open the Properties palette (as shown above) or use this easy tip.

Create a new LAYER (as you did in Lesson 1-8)and call it LINES. Do not make it the current layer. Draw a line on the 0 layer.

Now select the object and then move your cursor up to the layer droplist. You'll see a list of all of your layers - pick on the LINES layer - then press ESC.

Now when you check the properties of the line, you'll see that it is on the LINES layer. This is one method you will be using a lot, so learn it and master it.

Match Properties
One of the easiest ways to set properties is to use the MATCH PROPERTIES command. This is used by starting the command (icon is easiest) and then selecting the source object (the one that has the desired properties) and then selecting the target object(s). Use can also select the source object first, then the icon and then the target object.

Conclusion
You now have the skills to change to properties of any object you draw. There are many ways of doing it, but you'll see that some methods are easier. So remember, once something is drawn, you can modify it as shown in the previous lessons in this level, or modify the properties. In only rare instances, is it easier to erase and redraw the object. As you learn more commands in the next lessons, try these methods to see what can be changed - and how.

There are other ways that will be shown in future lessons in the next levels.

Topics covered in this Lesson:1-9

Topics covered in this Lesson:1-9

Direct Distance Entry
As mentioned earlier in the lessons, there are many ways to do things in AutoCAD. To enter distances, you have been shown Absolute, Relative and Polar Co-ordinates. Now you will be shown two more ways to tell AutoCAD where the locate the point you are drawing to.

DO NOT FORGET THE BASICS OF MANUAL ENTRY

Direct Distance Entry (or DDE) is a way of bypassing the usual ways of entering in co-ordinates and just entering the distance.

The method is quite easy.

Make sure that you have set Ortho (locking your input to vertical and horizontal) by pressing the F8 button and checking to see that the "Ortho" button is depressed on the status bar like this: Ortho is on Your F8 key will toggle Ortho on and off.

Lets say you want to draw a line from one point directly to the right 10 units.

Start the Line command and click on the screen anywhere, then more your cursor to the right of that point. If Ortho is turned on, the line should only point directly to the right and not at an angle. Now type in 10 . Press again to exit the command. You now have line that is 10 units long.
That is a very easy way to draw line segments. If Ortho is not set, your drawing will get messed up very quickly and will not be easy to fix. I have seen too many students take this easy route and wreck projects.

Polar Tracking
Now wouldn't it be cool to draw angled lines (like the short ones in the above image)? Well you can, but first you have to make change in your settings.

Type in DSETTINGS and you get the Drafting Settings dialog box, go to the "Polar Tracking" tab. :
Then make sure that Polar Tracking is On (press your F10 key to toggle it on and off) and then select the increment angle. More Info I recommend using polar settings with 45° increments.

In the example above, I made 4 lines 1 unit long using Direct Distance Entry (DDE). See if you can duplicate this on the end of the 10 unit line you just drew. The process is the same as you did for the DDE of the previous line. Make sure your increment angle is 30° and draw a line 4 units longs using DDE..
You can not have Ortho and Polar Tracking on at the same time. As you start to draw more, you will see that these two features are great time savers. There will be times, though, when you have to use absolute and relative co-ordinate entry (especially in 3D).

Refer back to the assignment in Lesson 1-2 and draw using the methods shown in this lesson.

Now I'm going to repeat this one last time:

Make sure you have either Ortho or Polar tracking on and don't forget how to manually enter points!


Object Snap Tracking
Now you've just seen how you can find distances from points and measure accurately, but what if you want to find specific points based on previously drawn objects? You can use Osnaps, but they don't always find the point you need.

Consider that you want to draw a circle in the middle of a rectangle like the example below:
In the olden days, you would have drawn a line from opposite corners of the rectangle to find the middle, then snapped to the midpoint of that line for the circle's center point, drawn the circle and then erased the reference line.

Now you can use object snap tracking. This is a way of finding reference points and drawing from them. To do this exercise, make sure that your Midpoint Osnap is on.

Draw a RECTANGLE from 0,0 to 4,3

Make sure that the Object Snap Tracking Otrack Button and Osnap button are depressed on the status bar.

Start the CIRCLE command.

Move your cursor over the midpoint of the bottom line of the rectangle. You should see a light dotted line project vertically through your cursor. Now more your cursor to the midpoint of the right vertical line of the rectangle. As you move your cursor towards the center of the rectangle, you should see the 2 dotted lines cross. It should look like this:
Once you see both lines, you can pick and the center point will be exact center of the rectangle. Give your circle a radius of 1".

This is a very simple example, but as you start drawing more complex shapes, this will be a handy to tool to master, and a great time saver. Object tracking will work with any Osnap that is invoked. But always check to make sure that you are picking the point you want.

Dynamic Input

Now it's time to put all these concepts together and combine them with on-screen help that's called 'Dynamic Input'. In older versions of AutoCAD, users relied solely on the command for information. Later versions of AutoCAD added Dynamic Input to put a user's keystrokes in the drawing area near their cursor.

Turn on Dynamic Input by clicking on the status bar:

Now when you draw, you will see all kinds of information on the screen.
In this example, I have drawn a line starting at the midpoint of the bottom line going up 20.5 units (which I manually entered) at 135°. Once I enter the distance, I can press the Tab key to switch over to the Degrees and enter a value there. I could also have typed @20.5<135 using relative co-ordinates.

If you are new to AutoCAD, I recommend turning this feature off as it takes your eyes off the command line (which will prompt you for information).

To review, AutoCAD provides some nice tools to enhance your productivity. Use them, master them, but don't forget the basic of inputting points. Especially when you do 3D work, manual entry becomes valuable.

Topics covered in this Lesson:1-8

Topics covered in this Lesson:1-8

Layer, Text, Dimensioning, Scale

Now that you've learned a lot of the drawing and modifying commands, it's time to go to the next level. This lesson will introduce you to text, dimensioning and the concept of layers. What you will do is take one of your previous assignments, save it to a new name and then add text and dimensions to it. These are the commands you'll be learning.
Begin by opening up Assignment #5 from your CAD folder.

Using the SAVE AS More Info option, immediately save it under the name Assign6.dwg

Click HERE for the GIF version of the file.
Click HERE for the DWG version.

The first thing you want to do is create three layers. Layers are used to organize drawings. Imagine a large project for a high-rise tower. The designers would create layers for the electrical, plumbing, landscape and more. It is necessary to control the drawing and turn some layers off and view only the ones you want. This is one reason why layers are needed. But if you were to use AutoCAD professionally, every drawing you dealt with would have layers.

You will be creating a layer for the dimensions, one for the lines (objects that were drawn) and another for the text. Start the LAYER command (LA). This will bring up the Layer Properties Manager (shown below). We'll cover the things that are used most often in this lesson.
Looking at the Dialog Box, you will see a lot of information. Notice the button beside Make Current on it. Below it is the name of the current layer you are drawing on. The main window gives you information about each particular layer. At this point, you want to be concerned with the 'Name', 'On' (light bulb) and 'Color' (colored square) columns as well as the 'New' button.

Now you have the dialog box on your screen, click the 'New' button. This will create a new layer and give you an opportunity to name it. Name this layer TEXT. Click on the small box towards the right and select yellow for the color. Create another layer and call this one DIM (for dimensions), and make its color red. Finally, create a third layer and call it OBJECT and make its color green. You have just created three new layers in your drawing. Highlight the TEXT layer and then press the 'Make Current' button. This makes the TEXT layer current and anything you draw will be placed on that layer. Your Dialog box should look like the one above. If it does, press OK to close the dialog box.

More about Layers
In the Layer Properties Manager, you will notice that each layer can have a number of specific properties.
*Status: Displays the current state of the layer. In this example, the green check means that Objects is the current layer.
*Name: The name of the layer. Give layers understandable names.
*On: If a layer is 'On' it means that it is visible (but objects can still be erased when the 'Select > All option is used).
*Freeze: A layer is not visible and cannot be deleted.
*Lock: Layer is visible, but cannot be modified.
*Color: A specific color for everything on that layer.
*Linetype: A specific linetype (hidden, center, etc) for the layer.
*Lineweight: The visible width of the objects on that layer.
*Plot: A defined color for the plotter to use on that layer.
*Plot (yes, two colomns use the same name: Switch on or off if that layer is plotted.
*Description: A user-defined description for the layer.

ADDING TEXT

TEXT is your current drawing layer now, so what you will be doing is creating some text now. Type in TEXT on the command line. Look at the command line.

Command: text
Justify/Style/:

The first thing AutoCAD wants is a starting point for the text. Type: 0,0 to place it at the bottom left corner of your drawing. Notice that there are other options you could make, but ignore them for now.

Height <0.2000>:

Next, AutoCAD wants to know how tall you want your letters to be. For this assignment, you want them to be 1/4" tall. Type in .25 at the Height prompt.

Rotation angle <0>:
One more thing before you start typing in text, tell AutoCAD if you want to have your text rotated. Not this time, so press to accept the default of 0 degrees.

Text: (YOUR NAME - ASSIGNMENT #6)

Finally you can type in what you want to put on the drawing. At the prompt, type your NAME and ASSIGNMENT #6 Text Help then press .

You will see that AutoCAD has placed your name in the bottom left corner at 1/4" high and in yellow on the 'Text' layer.

You don't really want your name jammed into the corner like that so move it up and over 1/8" (Remember your MOVE command and relative points : @.125,.125)

Now it's time to start dimensioning your drawing. Bring up the Layer dialog box and make DIM your current layer.

This is one time when I recommend to use the icons. Dimensioning is A LOT easier this way. If you don't see your dimensioning toolbar on the screen, right click on one of your toolbar icons and check the Dimension checkbox. You'll see the toolbar appear. Close the Toolbars dialog box.

There are several different types of dimensions, here are the ones you'll be using in this lesson (Each of the dimensioning icons gives you a quick clue as to which type of dimension it will create.) The image below shows you the standard dimensioning icons. This list below shows you which dimension types you will use in this lesson (Place your mouse on the toolbar icons to see what they represent.
Here are the ones you'll be using in this lesson.

Linear dimensions are used for dimensioning either horizontal or vertical distances.

Aligned dimensions will measure the actual length of an angled line.

Radius dimensions will give you the radius of either arcs or circles.

Diameter dimensions are used on circles.

Angular dimensions will measure the angle between two lines that you pick.

Baseline dimensions are a special type that will automatically stack dimensions along one plane as you pick points.

The type of dimension you pick will depend entirely upon what information you want to convey to the person reading the drawing. Look at the sample drawing and pick out the different types of dimensions and where they are used.

We'll start with the most common (and easiest): Linear Dimensions. You'll use this type to add dimensions to the rectangle in the bottom left of your drawing. Pick on the icon and then look at the command line.

Topics covered in this Lesson 1-7

Topics covered in this Lesson:1-7

Rotate, Fillet, Chamfer, Array
Now it's time to learn a few more commands. Like all of the commands learnt so far, these too will be ones that you will use regularly.

Here are the commands that you will be learning in this lesson.
Once again you will recreate a drawing. This one is called Assignment #5.

Click here to see the GIF format file.
Click here for the DWG file.

Follow the steps shown carefully. As these commands require a little more input, make sure that you keep an eye on the command line. You will be asked to provide information throughout the commands.

Start up AutoCAD and load the acad.dwt template like you have for the other lessons.

Start by drawing a horizontal 10" X 7" border with the bottom left corner at 0,0

Draw More Info a rectangle 1" wide by 3" tall with the bottom left corner at .75,.75

You are now going to rotate this rectangle 90° clockwise.

Start the ROTATE command. AutoCAD asks you to select objects. Select all parts of the rectangle and press . Now you must indicate a 'base point'. Think of this as a pivot point around which the rectangle will rotate. In this example, you want to select the bottom right corner (remember to use your Osnap). Once you've selected the base point, the command line shows rotation angle or [Reference]:This means that 'Rotation angle' is the default, so type in the angle you want to rotate the object. Think about how AutoCAD measures angles. Looking at your rectangle and the one on the assignment sheet, you'll see that you want to rotate the rectangle clockwise or: -90 degrees. Enter that number and press .

Command: RO
Current positive angle in UCS: ANGDIR=counterclockwise ANGBASE=0
Select objects:
Select objects:
Specify base point:
Specify rotation angle or [Reference]: -90

The rectangle is now been rotated -90 degrees from its original position. Picking different base points will give you different results. Undo the last command. Try a few different combinations of base points and angles to see what results you get. When you are done practicing, get the rectangle back to the position it was at the end of previous step.

Make a COPY of the rectangle 2" above the first one (remember your relative co-ordinates).

Now you're going to modify the second rectangle so that it has rounded corners. Start the FILLET command. Look at the command line. It will look something like this:

Command: F FILLET
Current settings: Mode = TRIM, Radius = 0.0000
Select first object or [Undo/Polyline/Radius/Trim/Multiple]:

AutoCAD first shows you what the current fillet radius is (0.0000). This will be the last value that was used. Once it's changed, it will keep the new value in memory. The next line shows you what options you have in this command. Remember that the Capitol of each option selects that particular option. What you want to do is change the fillet radius to 3/8" (or .375). To do this you have to type R . When you type this AutoCAD will give the chance to enter a new fillet radius. At this point enter .375 and press .

The fillet radius is now .375 (which is what you want). The default option is Select first object. Select the left side of the top rectangle (yes, the whole rectangle will highlight if you drew it as a rectangle). AutoCAD now asks you to select second object. Select the top line and AutoCAD will make a smooth round corner with a radius of .375. AutoCAD automatically ends the command at this point.

Restart the FILLET command Repeating Commands and do this to the remaining corners so that you have an object similar to the example.

NOTE: The Fillet command is commonly used with a Zero radius. This can sometimes be much quicker than trimming two lines that meet at endpoints. To practice this, fillet this lines you made with round corners using a Zero radius.

Copy the first rectangle to a point 4-1/2" above. Now you will use the chamfer command to give this rectangle sharp, angled corners.

Start the CHAMFER command. Look at the command line. It should look like this:

Command: CHA CHAMFER
(TRIM mode) Current chamfer Dist1 = 0.0000, Dist2 = 0.0000
Select first line or [Polyline/Distance/Angle/Trim/Method]: D
Specify first chamfer distance <0.5000>: .375
Specify second chamfer distance <0.3750>:
Select first line or [Undo/Polyline/Distance/Angle/Trim/mEthod/Multiple]:

This is very similar to the fillet command. You have several options available. Want you want is an even 45 degree angle 3/8" in from the corner. Like the fillet command, you first have to tell AutoCAD what distance you want. To do this, type D to select the Distance option. The command line now looks like this:

Specify first chamfer distance <0.5000>: .375 as your first distance.) The command line now asks for the second distance. AutoCAD will automatically change the default of the second distance to match the distance you entered for the first.

Specify second chamfer distance <0.3750>: (Press to accept this)

You will then be asked to Select first line. The chamfer command works just like the fillet command. Select the line on the left of the top rectangle. (Don't worry if the entire rectangle highlights.) When prompted to Select second line: select the top line. You will now have a perfect sharp corner at a 45 degree angle 3/8" in from the corner. Do this to the rest of the corners.

Now look at the assignment sheet and notice the group of six rectangles on the bottom right. You could draw each one individually, but AutoCAD has a command that will allow you to draw one, and it will make the others.

Create a rectangle that is 1/2" square with the bottom left corner at 6,1.5 (absolute points).

Start the ARRAY command. Look at the dialog box shown below: When confronting a new dialog box, I recommend that you look for what is needed from the TOP DOWN to the bottom. This is a great example.

1.Choose the radio button for "Rectangular Array". This will array the object in a row/column arrangement.
2.Next select the object you want to array, by picking on the button in the top right corner. (Press enter when done)
3.Enter the number of rows (going across the page) and column (running up and down the page).
4.Enter the Row offset. This is this from the bottom left of the original rectangle, to the bottom left of where the first copy will go.
5.Enter the Column offset
6.Pick the Preview button to see the array before committing.

If the array is correct (check the sample drawing), press the "Accept" button. If you need to change anything, press the "Modify" button, make your changes in the dialog box and preview again.

Now you are going to use the ARRAY (polar) command to create the shape in the top right corner of the assignment.

Start by making a CIRCLE with a center point of 7.5,5.5 and a diameter of 1.5 Next make a LINE from the center of the circle going 1" to the right (remember your relative input and Osnaps).

Start the ARRAY command. When asked to select objects, pick the line you just drew.
Examine the dialog box above. Remember to start from the TOP. In this case, you have to select your objects and select a Center Point for the array. (Select the center of the circle.)

NOTE: Sometimes the Array command can be quicker than the offset command. Think of creating lines for a ceiling grid. You 'could' offset 30 lines one at a time, or you 'should' use the array command to create all 30 lines at once.

Save and print your drawing.

So far in seven lessons, you have learned many of the common commands in AutoCAD. It may not seem like a lot, but the idea is to become fluent in them. It should be second nature to run these commands, as these are the ones you will be using most often. With practice, you won't the command line to help you along. Think of the first time you drove a car with a manual transmission. After time, it got smoother, didn't it. I can't stress enough how important practice is during these early lessons.

Extra Practice: Copy this drawing - extra_009.gif

Extra Practice: Copy this drawing - extra_010.gif

Extra Practice: Copy this drawing using 2 methods. First create the lines using the offset command, then create the lines using the Array command. Compare which method should be easier, and when you might use one over the other - extra_013.gif

Topics covered in this Lesson::1-6

Topics covered in this Lesson::1-6

Move, Copy, Stretch, Mirror
In this assignment you will be adding some more common commands to your collection. All of these commands are ones that you will use on a regular basis.

This is a short assignment to show you how these commands are used. You will recreate the drawing called Assignment #4.

Click HERE to see the file in GIF format.
Click HERE to download the DWG file.

Start up AutoCAD and set up your drawing as you have in the previous assignments.

Turn on your Endpoint Osnap.More Info

This time draw the border first. Draw a 10" wide by 7" high rectangular border using any method. The bottom left corner must be at 0,0

Draw a 2" wide by 3" high rectangle using the
RECTANGLE command. The bottom left corner must be at 0,0

Notice that the small rectangle and the border are overlapping each other at the bottom left of your drawing. What you want to do is move the small rectangle over 1" and up 1" so that it is away from the border.

To do this, start the MOVE command by typing in either m or move . Select all the lines of the rectangle using one of the selection methods described earlier. Press . Now AutoCAD asks for a "base point or displacement". What it is needing is a reference point. Click on the bottom left corner of the rectangle. AutoCAD now asks for a 'second point of displacement'. What it needs to know now is how far you want to move it. This is a great time to use relative co-ordinates. In this case, you want to move it 1" over and 1" up. So type @1,1 to achieve this. The rectangle will automatically move to its new location.

Now you want to copy this rectangle 3" over to the right. The copy command is very similar to the move command. (The only difference is that the copy command leaves an original behind.)

Start the COPY command. You will be asked to select objects. Select the rectangle you just moved. AutoCAD now needs the "base point or displacement" just like in the move command. Once again, select the bottom left corner of the rectangle. Once you've done this, you need to tell AutoCAD what the second point of displacement is. Since you want to move the rectangle over 3" to the right, type in @3,0 The rectangle has now been copied 3" over.

But the rectangle is not as tall as the one in the sample drawing, the sample drawing's rectangle is 1" taller. To modify this, you'll use the stretch command.

Start the STRETCH command by typing S . AutoCAD now makes you select objects by using a crossing window or crossing polygon. You're going to use a crossing window. Remember from the Lesson 1-5 that you make a crossing window by creating it from the right to left. Left-click just a bit above and to the right of the top right hand corner of the new rectangle (P1). Move your crosshairs down and to the left until your (dotted) crossing window covers the top half of the rectangle completely and then left click again (P2). You'll see that the objects are highlighted now. Press to accept this. Next you're asked for that now familiar base point. Pick on the top left corner of the rectangle. Now give AutoCAD the second point of displacement. In this case, you want to stretch the rectangle 1" up, so type @0,1 to do this. The rectangle is now 1" taller.

The goal when selecting objects to stretch is to draw the window over the vertices or points that you want to stretch. If you miss a corner, you will change the shape of the rectangle. So always be aware of which points need to be stretched.

Next you want to draw the polygon on the right side. To do this, you will draw the three lines on the left side first and then mirror those lines over to the right side. Draw the 3 lines any way you like (hint: use absolute co-ordinates).

Once they are drawn, begin the MIRROR command. Select the three lines (press ) Now you are asked for the first point of the mirror line. With your endpoint Osnap turned on, pick the end of the line at 8,2. Now you are asked for the second point. Select the point on the line at 8,5. Once you've done this, AutoCAD wants to know if you want to delete the old objects. In this case you don't, so accept the default by pressing . Note: In general, the mirror line will be half-way between the object the you are mirroring and where you want it to be.

The assignment is now complete. Review what you have done and practice on these commands. Save and print your assignment. Copy and Move are very common commands. For example, you might create a ceiling light, then have to move it into place, and then copy it for every instance in the room. Fortunately, these commands work very similar, and once you master one, you have mastered both.

Extra Practice: Copy this drawing using the commands you have learned in lessons up to this point - extra_007.gif

Extra Practice: This exercise uses an option of the CIRCLE command called "Tangent Tangent Radius" or TTR. To use it, pick the two tangents of the circle first, then enter the radius. The rest of it uses previous commands. extra_008.gif

Topics covered in this Lesson:1--5

Topics covered in this Lesson:
Creating Selection Sets
By now you have probably seen a coloured rectangle appear on your screen when you left-click and the move the crosshairs around. You'll learn all about these in this lesson. AutoCAD uses what's called a selection set to allow you to group objects together and then modify them. For example, if you want to erase several lines, you could press E , pick on the line, press again and repeat until you're done. Another way would be to press E , and then pick the lines one by one until they are all selected, and press . By selecting a group of objects, you have created a selection set. Whenever you want to modify an object, and are asked by AutoCAD to "select objects" you can create a selection set and then apply the command.

REMEMBER TO PRESS ENTER WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED SELECTING THE OBJECTS

There are also a few other ways to create a selection set. The most common way is to use a window.

There are two very different types of windows you can use.

One is a 'crossing window' and the other is a box. If you create the window from right to left, you make a crossing window. This means that any object that crosses the border or is surrounded by the window is added to the selection set. This is shown as a green rectangle with a dotted outline on the screen. If you create the window from left to right, you create a box. Using this method you'll add only the items that are completely within the box. This is shown as a blue box on the screen. The difference is very important. More Info

To summarize:

There are other ways to select objects and here a few of the more common ways. These can also be used in combination.

REMOVE - by typing R when asked to select objects, AutoCAD will select change to allow you to Remove objects from the selection set. You can also remove individual objects by pressing the Shift Key when selecting (known as a 'shift-select')

LAST - by typing L when asked to select objects, AutoCAD will select the last object that you created. This is handy if you create something and want to move or modify it right away.

PREVIOUS - by typing P when asked to select objects, AutoCAD will select the previous selection set. This is used if you select a few objects, modify them and then want to modify them again.

FENCE - by typing F when asked to select objects, AutoCAD allows you to draw a series of lines (called a fence) to select objects. This is convenient if you want to select a group of lines to be trimmed to a single cutting edge.

CROSSING POLYGON - typing CP when you are selecting objects give the ability to create a crossing polygon for object selection. This is similar to a crossing box, but you can pick points on the screen to create a polygon. By default, this is a crossing polygon, therefore any objects that cross the polygon will be added to the selection set.

CROSSING WINDOW - typing CW when you are selecting objects give the ability to create a crossing window for object selection. This is similar to a crossing box, but you can pick points on the screen to create a polygon. This is a crossing window, therefore any objects that are completely within the polygon will be added to the selection set. Newer versions of AutoCAD allow you to use your cursor to create a crossing window without typing in the 'CW'.

CYCLING - When are ready to select objects, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and then press the Space Bar when your mouse is on top of overlapping objects. Repeatedly press the Space Bar until the one object you want to modify is highlighted. Then pick with the mouse. This is a good approach if you have many objects in a small area.

To unselect everything you have selected, you just press the escape key on your keyboard or right-click and choose "Deselect All" from the menu.

TIP: Zoom in when selecting in tight spaces. Make sure you are 100% sure you are selecting the correct object. Imagine the difference of offsetting an interior wall instead of the exterior wall - the resulting object would be off by over 6 inches! Get used to zooming in, then zooming out quickly.

You need to quickly select objects in AutoCAD to be a good operator.

For practice, open one of your previous drawings and try selecting objects using all of the methods described above. Notice that as you move your cursor over an object the object will highlight.

Topics covered in this Lesson:1-4

Topics covered in this Lesson:1-4

Review and practice of accurate input

Now it's time to see if you were paying attention in the In this lesson you will complete the drawing that will test your knowledge of drawing accurately using different types of precision input. Clients expect 100% accurate drawings from YOU. It is up to the YOU to ensure that YOU have the ability to draw quickly and accurately. There is a lot of room for error when drafting, as you need to read accurately, transfer the numbers to AutoCAD accurately, and draw accurately. It is the job of this tutorial to help you learn to draw accurately - speed will come only through practice.

You can download the DWG file HERE and view the image HERE
Print the file out and try to reproduce it. Start at the bottom left corner. Use the drawing tools you have learned in the previous lessons. You will have to use a combination of absolute, relative, and polar co-ordinate input

1.Open AutoCAD and set up the drawing as you have for the previous assignments.

2.Complete the assignment by drawing it accurately using the dimensions provided.

3. If you make an error along the way, remember that you can use your ENDPOINT Osnap to begin where you left off.

4. Save your drawing.

5.Print your drawing using the guidelines given in the previous assignments.

Click HERE to check the command line input for this drawing.

As mentioned earlier, AutoCAD is accurate. It is up to the user to ensure that they give the proper input to make sure that the drawing is accurate. It can be extremely costly to make mistakes with what seem to be 'minor' errors in accuracy.

By this point in the tutorials, you should able to do the above drawing without referencing other materials. If this isn't the case, you should review the previous lessons. Here are two more practice exercises to work on your input and drawing skills.

Extra Practice: Copy this drawing - extra_005.gif

Extra Practice: Copy this drawing - extra_006.gif

Topics covered in this Lesson:1-3

Topics covered in this Lesson:
Rectangle | Multi Line | Extend | Offset | Trim | Introduction to Object Snaps

The previous lesson dealt with drawing commands. This lesson will introduce the common modifying commands. In AutoCAD, you may actually use modifying commands more often than drawing commands. Now that you know that basics, here's some more commands to add to your collection. Three commands, Trim, Extend and Offset are used standard AutoCAD work.

Assignment #2 - Modifying Commands

The purpose of this assignment is to use the commands learned in the previous lesson and learn some new ones.

Duplicate the drawing called Assign_2.
Click HERE to download the DWG file.

Once again, do not worry about title blocks, text or dimensions, draw only what is in yellow.

Start AutoCAD and begin the the drawing by opening up the template file like you did in

Draw a LINE from 1,2 to 3,2 to 3,4 to 1,4 (*Remember to watch the command line as you do this.) For the last line, you can either type in 1,2 or C to close the line back to the first point you entered. These are absolute co-ordinates. Make sure you understand what the points your just entered represent.

Draw the next square using the RECTANGLE command. A rectangle is created by specifying 2 points to represent the opposite corners. Enter the first point as 4.5,2 and then make the opposite corner 2 inches over and 2 inches up @2,2 using relative co-ordinates. This is much faster and also makes the square one object and not 4 separate lines.

ERASE the rectangle. You will see that all of it is gone with one pick. Redraw it and continue.

Draw the third box using the MULTILINE command. This box is 1-1/2" square. The following steps are what you will see on the command line. Before drawing the lines, you have to set the SCALE to 0.15"(distance between the lines) by typing 'S'. Then set the JUSTIFICATION (offset origin) by typing 'J'.

Command: ml
MLINE
Current settings: Justification = Top, Scale = 1.00, Style = STANDARD
Specify start point or [Justification/Scale/STyle]: s
Enter mline scale <1.00>: .15
Current settings: Justification = Top, Scale = 0.15, Style = STANDARD
Specify start point or [Justification/Scale/STyle]: 8,2
Specify next point: @1.5,0
Specify next point or [Undo]: @0,1.5
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: @-1.5,0
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: @0,-1.5
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]:

To review what you just did, you started the command, then set the scale (distance between the lines) to .15 units. Then you just drew the rectangle using relative co-ordinates.

Erase the multiline rectangle you just drew. Notice that when you hover over the rectangle, it will turn to a dotted line. This means that it is highlighted as the object that will be selected if you pick at that moment. In highly detailed drawings, this is very handy.

Draw it again as shown below and note the subtle difference from the first one you drew.

Command: ML
MLINE
Current settings: Justification = Top, Scale = 1.00, Style = STANDARD
Specify start point or [Justification/Scale/STyle]: s
Enter mline scale <1.00>: .15
Current settings: Justification = Top, Scale = 0.15, Style = STANDARD
Specify start point or [Justification/Scale/STyle]: 8,2
Specify next point: @1.5,0
Specify next point or [Undo]: @0,1.5
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: @-1.5,0
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: C

The difference is that instead of drawing to the last point, you used the C (close) option to complete the rectangle. The difference is shown in the drawing below.
This is an example of why you have to look at the command line as you work. As soon as you start the command, you have choices available. Whenever you see this come up, if you want to change anything, you just type the CAPITAL letter of the option. For example, if you want to undo the last point, you would type u at this point. For this assignment you only changed the scale. After you have completed the assignment, try different settings for this command. Use your AutoCAD help option to see what these options control. (NOTE: I don't normally use Multilines while drawing as I don't have complete control over both the inner and outer lines. On the other hand, Multilines can be great for drawing quick offset lines. Also, they cannot be trimmed (you have to explode them first).

Draw a line from 2,5 to 2,6.5 Draw another line from 1,6 to 3,6 You should now have two perpendicular lines. What you want to do is trim off the top of the vertical line and create a T.

Start the TRIM command. It will first ask for a cutting edge. Select the horizontal line and press . It will now ask for the object to be trimmed. Select the vertical line anywhere above the horizontal (cutting) line and press to finish the command.

This is what you saw on the command line:

Command: TR TRIM
Current settings: Projection=UCS, Edge=None
Select cutting edges ...
Select objects: <Select the Horizontal line>1 found
Select objects: <enter>
Select object to trim or shift-select to extend or [Fence/Crossing/Project/Edge/eRase/Undo]: <Select the vertical line>
Select object to trim or shift-select to extend or [Project/Edge/Undo]: <enter>

Once again, it is important to keep your eye on the command line as it will guide through most commands.

Draw a LINE from 4,6.5 to 6,6.5 Draw another line from 5,5 to 5,6 What you want to do now is extend the vertical line up to the meet horizontal line. Start the EXTEND command. AutoCAD asks for a boundary edge; select the horizontal line press . It then asks for an object to extend; select somewhere in the top half of the vertical line. Press to end the command. Your command line history should match what is printed below.

Command: EX <enter> EXTEND
Current settings: Projection=UCS, Edge=None
Select boundary edges ...
Select objects: <Select the horizontal line> 1 found
Select objects: <enter>
Select object to extend or shift-select to trim or [Fence/Crossing/Project/Edge/Undo]: <Select the top half of the vertical line>
Select object to extend or shift-select to trim or [Project/Edge/Undo]: <enter>

Draw a CIRCLE with a center point of 7.5,5.5 with a radius of .5 Now you will use to offset command to make another circle 1/4" larger. Start the OFFSET command (watch the command line) and enter .125 as the offset distance. Now select the circle and pick anywhere outside the circle. Press to end the command.

Object Snaps

Suppose you want to draw a line from the center of the circle to the middle of the vertical line you extended earlier. AutoCAD has a feature that makes this very easy. These are the Object Snaps (or Osnaps "Oh-Snaps"). Type OS . You will see this dialog box appear.

You may also see a toolbar with these Osnaps as shown below.

You may select whichever points you want to 'snap' on an object. Here is a list of your options. Followed by the command entry to invoke the needed Osnap.

Endpoint - snaps to either the beginning or the end of an object such as a line - END

Midpoint - snaps to the exact middle of a line or an arc - MID

Center - snaps to the center-point of a circle or arc - CEN

Node - snaps to 'nodes' (not covered in this course) - NOD

Quadrant - snaps to any of the four quadrants of a circle - QUA

Intersection - snaps to the point where two object cross - INT

Extension - Snaps to the phantom extension of an arc or line - EXT

Insertion - snaps to the insertion point of an object (such as a block or text) - INS

Perpendicular - will snap so that the result is perpendicular to line selected - PER

Tangent - snaps to create a line tangent to a circle or arc - TAN

Nearest - will find the closest point an object and snap to that point - NEA

Parallel -Snaps parallel to a specified line - PAR

None - temporarily turns off all Osnaps. (Pressing your F3 Key is quicker) - NON

Osnap settings - opens the Osnap dialog box.

Temporary Tracking - Creates a temporary tracking point (see Object Tracking).

From - Allows you to select a point, then denote a new location 'from' that point using relative co-ordinates. This can save you the time of drawing (and erasing) construction lines.

M2P - This isn't technically an 'Object Snap' as you are not snapping to an object, but it allows you to select 2 points and it will calculate the midpoint between those 2 points. This is a very handy option to have.

Note: Beside each checkbox is a symbol. That symbol will show up on the screen when you have found a valid snap point. (An endpoint will show a small square). If you select the "Options" button, you can change the aperture size and the color of the Osnaps. Depending upon the background you are drawing on, this may be needed.

1.Check off the boxes as shown in the dialog box above (Object Snaps On, Endpoint, Midpoint, Center) and press OK.

2.Begin the LINE command. Move your cursor around the screen and you'll see that as you get close to an object, it will 'snap' to one of the points that you had checked off in the dialog box. Place your cursor on the circle (not the middle of the circle) until you see a small purple circle appear at its center. Left-click to make this the start point of the line. Move the cursor towards the middle of the vertical line until you see a small triangle appear. (Remember this is the symbol for 'midpoint'). When you see it left-click to accept this as your endpoint. Press to end the line command.

3.Save your drawing.

4.Print your drawing with the same settings as in Assignment #1.

TIP: Before you select the Osnap you want, you can press the TAB key on your keyboard to cycle through the available Osnaps in the area of your cursor.

CAUTION: Although it may seem tempting to turn 'all' the Osnaps on when drawing, you can have too much of a good thing. For example, in shorter lines, Midpoint, Nearest and Perpendicular could all be very close to each other, and you could select the wrong point.

When you have finished the assignment, continue practicing with the commands until they are mastered. These are common commands that you will use in everyday drafting.

Extra Practice: Copy this drawing, using lines, mlines, offset, osnaps - extra_003.gif

Extra Practice: Copy this drawing, it could a little to figure out, but still uses the commands you have learned so far. - extra_004.gif

Extra Practice: Have a look at this drawing of a simple reflected ceiling plan (RCF) and see how the offset, trim and extend commands might be used. If you know how to change units to Architectural, try drawing it.