Autocad for Beginners

 

AutoCAD 2007

 

Open up AutoCAD on the computer.

LH     - Left hand

 

Drawing Lines

 

1.            Go to DRAW  on the toolbar at the top of the page.

Click on   LINE command with LH mouse button.

2.            Click once on the LH mouse button on the drawing page to determine where the line is to start. Take your finger off the mouse button.

3.            Move the mouse across the page a little.

4.            Click again with the LH mouse button to determine where the line is to stop.

5.            Press the Return key to finish this command.

6.            You should have drawn a line.

 

Ortho

 

1.            ORTHO ensures that lines are horizontal or vertical.

Click on the ORTHO symbol at the bottom of the page until the < Ortho on > confirmation appears.

2.     Repeat the drawing line process.

 

Drawing Lines to Length

 

1.            Go to DRAW.   Click on   LINE command with LH mouse button.

2.            Click once on the LH mouse button on the drawing page to determine where the line is to start. Take your finger off the mouse button.

3.            Move the mouse across the page a little.

4.            Type in 1000, this is 1000mm for the line length.

5.            Press the Return key twice to finish this command.

6.            You should have drawn a line that is 1000mm long.

 

Erase

 

1.            Go to MODIFY  on the toolbar at the top of the page and click on ERASE.

2.            A command will appear to ‘select objects’.

Select a line by clicking on it with the LH mouse button.

3.     Press the Return key to carry out this command.

 

Object Snap

 

1.            This allows the user to join a line into another one at the end of the existing line.

Switch on the ‘OSNAP’ facility at the bottom of the page.

You should see the < Osnap on > confirmation.

2.            We will join a new line into an existing one.

Draw a new line as described above.

3.            Move the cursor (by moving the mouse) over the end of the line you want to join.

A small orange square should appear.

This indicates that the line will be snapped onto the end of the existing line.

4.            Click with the mouse LH button and draw a new joining line as normal.

 

Zoom and Pan

 

1.            Find the zoom and pan symbols on the toolbar, when you move the cursor over the symbols it confirms what they are.

2.            The zoom can be used with the mouse roller ball.

3.            The pan can be used to bring the drawing into the centre of the page.

 

Undo

 

1.            If a mistake is made you can undo the last command by going to EDIT and Undo or even Redo.

 

 

Commands

 

The current commands are listed at the bottom of each drawing page.

It’s a good idea to read these commands so that you know what is happening.

It takes a while to get used to the AutoCAD speak.

Sometimes the ESC key is used to finish a set of commands.

Check to see if a new command is required to ensure the last one is finished.