I have made this when I was learning AutoCAD. There are command details, what they are used for and suitable example to see how the command works.
Hope it will be useful for beginners.
3. ZOOM
Shortcut: Z+Enter
Options:
All-All the drawings on the workspace brought together in one screen.
Centre-Select centre by mouse to zoom w.r.t. that centre.
Dynamic-A movable window of customizable size will appear. Zoom will be applied
where the window will be placed.
Scale-Current position of drawing is considered 1x.Zoom will be applied w.r.t. it.eg.
2x,0.5x
Window-Select area window to zoom. Also can be used without applying window
command. Just apply zoom and select window to be zoomed by the cursor.
Extents-Zoom will be applied to fit the whole drawing in one screen from top to
bottom.
Previous-Applies previously used zoom criteria.
Object-Select object to zoom onto it.
4. PAN
Allows to drag the drawing in and around the workspace.
In command-line, type pan to activate the hand tool to click and drag the drawing.
Alternatively, press mouse roller over the drawing and drag to required position by
keeping the roller pressed.
5. REGENERATE
Shortcut :reg+Enter
Smoothens the boundaries of circles and arcs which get distorted due to repeated
use of zoom command.
Always keep regenerating the drawing at regular intervals.
6. LIMITS
Type limits on command-line to activate.
Sets limit of workspace for drawing in specified page area.
Limits>ON>Limits>Enter lower left corner value{preferably (0,0)}>Enter upper
right corner value{as per page dimensions}.
7. GRID
Type grid in command-line to activate.
Select limit option if you want to display grid only in already limited workspace.
Select NO for turning off grid beyond specified limits.
8. SNAP
Used for precision drawing by allowing cursor to jump directly to next point on
grid specified by values pre-entered.
E.g. If you want cursor to move in x and y axis by multiples of 10 units, then go to
settings and set snap to 10.
This will restrict abrupt cursor movement and allow the cursor to move only in
multiples of specified units.
9. UCS-ICON
Used for moving or fixing the UCS(User Co-ordinate Screen) on the screen.
Select no-origin option to keep the icon fixed at left corner of the screen.
10. LINE
Shortcut :l+Enter
Line command can be used in 4 ways:
Absolute Co-ordinate Method-Enter co-ordinates in format (x,y) to start plotting the
endpoints of the line.
Relative co-ordinate Method-Enter co-ordinates in format (@x,y).This takes the
previous point as origin.
Polar co-ordinate Method-Enter points in format (@Distance, angle).This draws a line
of given distance at given angle from the selected point.
Direct dimension Method-Align the cursor to required direction after clicking the start
point of line and enter the required length of the line.For the use of this method,
activation of dynamic input(F12) is preferable.
11. CIRCLE
Shortcut: c+Enter.
Circle can be drawn in following ways:
3P-Select 3 points to be located on the circumference to draw directly a circle passing
through them.
2P-Select 2 points to be located on the circumference to draw directly a circle passing
through them.
Centre and Radius-Select a Centre point of the circle and enter the required radius.
Centre and Diameter-select a Centre point of the circle and enter the required diameter.
Tan Tan Radius-Select 2 lines to which the circle shoud be the tangents to circle and
enter required radius.
Tan tan tan-Select 3 lines to which should be tangents to the circle.
12. RECTANGLE
Shortcut : rec+Enter
A rectangle can be drawn in the following ways:
2 Corner points- Select 2 opposite corner points to fit a rectangle between them.
Area Dimension Length-
Chamfer Fillet Thickness-
Chamfer-Rectangle with chamfered edges can be drawn by specifying chamfer distance in
horizontal and vertical edges.
Fillet-Rectangle with rounded edge(fillet) can be drawn by specifying fillet radius.
Thickness-
13. EXTRA COMMANDS
Erase:
E+Enter
Select objects to erase.
Undo-
Ctrl+z
Undoes the last action performed.
Redo-
Ctrl+y
Redoes the last action performed.
Oops
Repeats the last step.
Use only once in current drawing.
14. UTILITY COMMANDS(for POINT)
Point:
Po+Enter
Create single or multiple points.
Point format:
Ddptype
Select the point style to be shown.
Select ‘set size relative to screen’ to change visibility of point when regenerating.
Divide:
Div+Enter.
Divide an object in given equal number of segments.
Measure:
Me+Enter
Works same like divide command but we have to specify the distance.
Eg. A line of 11cm if divided in 10 segments, each would be 1.1cm, but if measured in 10 segments of 1
cm(user defined value), then last segment of 1 cm would remain extra.
15. OBJECT SNAP
Shortcut-F3
Snaps the object to a specified point. E.g. centre of circle, midpoint, endpoint, tangent,
etc.
When snap is on, it shows marker and tooltip which shows whichever object snap are in
effect. This feature is called AutoSnap.
If number of points collide at a single point, enter the required drawing command(line,
circle, etc.) and then click ctrl+rightclick to snap any particular point.
To snap any object to midpoint of rectangle or such undefined centres, click
ctrl+rightclick and select mid between two points and then select the two points whose
mid point is required. Alternatively, write m2p in command line.
16. SELECTION
Crossing Window:
Green coloured window.
Moves from right to left.
Selects any object whose part it may touch.
Full Window:
Blue coloured window.
Moves from left to right.
Selects only the objects that are fully enclosed in it.
17. ARC
Shortcut: a+enter.
Press ctrl while drawing arc to reverse the direction. By default arc is drawn anti-
clockwise.
Reverse arc is not possible in case when drawing by radius method.
Basically 11 methods to draw arc:
1. 3-point
2. Start-Centre-(End/Angle/Length)
3. Start-End-(Angle/Direction/Radius)
4. Centre-Start-(end/Angle/Length)
5. Continue.
18. ELLIPSE
Shortcut: el+enter
Elliptical arc can also be drawn with this command.
Following options are available:
1. Ellipse with 2 endpoints
2. Ellipse with centre and endpoint
3. Elliptical arc
By centre and endpoint method, first specify centre of ellipse, then whole length of
major arc followed by the half length of the minor arc.
19. POLYGON
Shortcut: pol+enter.
Can have side between 3 to 1024.
Length of all sides will be equal.
Angle between the adjacent sides will be equal.
Options available are:
Inscribed-Inside a circle of a specified radius
Circumscribed-Outside a circle of a specified radius.
Edge-Polygon construced with specified length of edge.
20. POLAR TRACKING
Shortcut: F10
Sets polar increment angle used to display polar tracking alignment paths.
In settings, additional tracking angles can be specified which are not included in list of
regular tracking angles.
21. SPLINE
Shortcut: spl-Enter
Creates smooth curves that passs through or near a set of fit points, or that is defined by
the vertices in a control frame.
Can create/edit splines by either control vertices or fit points.
22. MOVE
Shortcut: m+Enter
Moves objects through a specified distance in a specified direction.
Use co-ordinates, grid snaps, object snap, and othe tools to increase the precision of
base-point of the moving object.
23. ROTATE
Shortcut: ro+ enter
Rotates the objects around a base point.
Also allows option to copy the selected object from the base point after rotation.
24. SCALE
Shortcut: sc+enter
Used to enlarge or reduce the size of objects, keeping the proportions of the object same
after the scaling.
Scale factor greater than 1 enlarges the object; from 0-1 diminishes the object.
Copy option creates the copy of the selected object for scaling.
Reference option scales objects based on a reference length and a specified new length.
25. MIRROR
Shortcut: mi+enter
Select objects to mirror, then select the mirroring line about which they have to be
mirrored.
Once the objects are mirrored, they do not appear on the screen, following command is
required-
NO-To keep both original and the mirrored objects.
YES-To delete the original object and keep only the image.
26. ARRAY
Shortcut: ar+enter
Create multiple copies of objects that are evenly distributed in a rectangular or circular
pattern, or along a specified path.
Rectangular Array-Objects arranged in row and column format. The no. of rows and columns
and distance between adjacent rows and columns can be specified.
Circular/Polar Array-Objects arranged in a circular manner about a specified base point(on or
around the object).The no. of items, fill angle, etc. can be specified.
Path Array-Objects arrayed on a specified path( eg. Spline).The no. of items and relative
distance between them can be specified.
27. JOIN
Shortcut :j+enter
Combine lines, arcs, polylines, helixes, splines, etc. by their endpoints into a single
object.
Join works only for bojects whose endpoints are connected to each other.
Applications-
Replacing 2 collinear lines with single line. If there is gap between the lines, it will be filled.
Closing gap in line resulting from break command.
Completing arc/elliptical arc into a circle/ellipse.
Joining 2 splines having a kink.
28. BREAK
Shortcut :br+enter
Break any object without a gap in it.
Often used to create a space for text/block.
Break doesn’t work in blocks, dimensions, multilines, and regions. To break them, first
use Explode.
29. TRIM/EXTEND
Shortcut :tr+enter
Trim and Extend are exclusive commands. If trim is running, press and hold Shift key to
continue extending, and vice versa.
Press tr+enter+enter to make all edges the potential cutting edges so that small parts can
be easily trimmed away.
Extend-
Extend one object or more by selecting suitable boundary defined by other objects.
Press and hold Shift key to trim extended parts without exiting the command.
30. OFFSET
Shortcut :o+enter
Offset an object by specifying offset distance, to create a new object whose shape is
parallel to the original object.
Can be used for lines, arcs, circles, xlines, rays, etc.
For e.g. Draw a rectangle of 100*50 mm² and offset inside or outside by 10mm to look
like a frame or walls of a plan.
31. CHAMFER
Shortcut :cha+enter
Chamfers 2 objects to meet in flat or beveled corners.
Lines, polylines, rays, etc. can be chamfered.
32. FILLET
Shortcut :f+enter
Connects 2 objects with an arc that is tangent to the objects and has a specified radius.
Can be used with any 2D object to generate smooth corners.
Limitation-For corner meeting of 2 lines, maximum radius of fillet can be the length of
shortest line.
Selecting 2 objects and giving fillet radius 0 makes the objects extend to make a corner.
33. STRETCH
Shortcut :s+enter
Stretches the objects crossed by the selection window.
Objects partially enclosed will be stretched.
Objects completely enclosed/individually selected are moved.
34. PROPERTIES
Shortcut :pr/ch/mo+enter
Shortcut :Ctrl+1
Shortcut :Click RMB->Properties
Can change various aspects of selected object such as linetype, lineweight,
transparency, layer, area, perimeter, radius, dimensions, etc for any object.
Hyperlink option allows any external file to be opened on clicking the object to which
hyperlink is attached.
Match Property-
Shortcut: ma+enter
To apply the properties of selected object to another object.
35. ISOLATE
Rightclick>Isolate >Isolate objects
Will show only objects that are selected on the screen.
To show all objects end isolation.
Rightclick>Isolate>Hide Objects
36. TOOLS>INQUIRY
To inquire the dimensions without displaying on the screen.
In drafting and annotation mode, look under utilities tab.
Di-distance inquiry.
Aa-area inquiry.Select points between which area is to be calculated.
Add area or subtract area to find area of an object without counting the area of any objects
enclosed in it.
List-list the properties of selected object.
Idpoint-to find the co-ordinate of any point.
Status-current status of the drawing.
37. TEXT
SINGLE LINE TEXT:
dt+enter
Specify height and angle.
Press enter 2 times to end command.
St+enter = Text style change-format text.
MULTILINE TEXT:
mt+enter.
Options for the current box appear @ top menubar-Justification, distribute, symbols, field, etc.
ARC TEXT:
Express Tools>Arc Text.
To write in arcs.