BLOCKS
TIPS
1. Create a new block on layer 0 so that the block will use the layer and properties of the current
layer it is inserted on. Text can be set to colour white.
2. Set ATTDIA to 1 to use dialog box with block attributes or 0 to use command line.
3. AutoCAD 2006 allows you to change the insertion point on the fly. INSERT and select BASEPOINT.
This allows you to pick anywhere in the drawing (and anywhere in the block you are inserting) as
your new insertion point (basepoint).
4. To edit/relocate attributes: REFEDIT to the hosting block, relocate and edit.., REFCLOSE, then
ATTSYNC to apply your changes to the attribute
5.TO RELOCATE ATTRIBUTE: enter edit block, select attribute, from properties change (LOCK
POSITION - to NO )
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
ATT ATTDEF Opens attribute definition dialogue box
ATTEDIT ATTEDIT Edit attribute values for a specific block
B BLOCK Opens block dialogue box in order to make a block
BATTMAN BATTMAN Opens block attribute manager
BATTORDER BATTORDER Displays attribute order dialogue box
BC BCLOSE Closes the block editor
BCOUNT BCOUNT Counts the blocks in a drawing
BE BEDIT Opens the edit block definition dialogue box
Enhanced attribute extraction wizard to count
EATTEXT EATTEXT
blocks
GATTE GATTE Global attribute edit of multiple blocks
I INSERT Opens insert dialogue to insert a block
-I INSERT Insert a block by name
MINSERT MINSERT Insert block in rectangular array
REFEDIT REFEDIT Edit a block reference in place
REFCLOSE REFCLOSE Closes the block reference. Ps: SAVE
ATTS ATTSYNC Applies block reference changes to attribute
Opens rename dialogue box to rename blocks,
REN RENAME
layers, etc
W WBLOCK Write a block - for use in other drawings
Lists type/block name/layer name/color/linetype
XLIST XLIST
of a nested object in a block or an xref
COMMON COMMANDS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
A ARC Draw an arc
AL ALIGN Align an object with another
AP APPLOAD Opens application load dialogue box
AR ARRAY Opens array dialogue box
AUDIT AUDIT Audit drawing for errors
AV DSVIEWER Opens ariel view of drawing
B BLOCK Opens block dialogue box
C CIRCLE Draw a circle
CO COPY Copy an object
CHA CHAMFER Chamfer between 2 non-parallel lines
COL COLOR Opens select color dialogue box
CUI Opens customise user interface dialogue
D DIMSTYLE Opens dimstyle manager
DC ADCENTER Opens designcenter
DI DIST Check a distance
DIV DIVIDE Inserts point node a set division
DO DONUT Draw a solid donut shape
DV DVIEW Perspective view
E ERASE Erase a selection
EX EXTEND Extend a selection
F FILLET Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines
FI FILTER Opens filter dialogue box
FLATTEN FLATTEN Converts 3D to 2D
G GROUP Launches the group dialogue box
H HATCH Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box
I INSERT Insert a block
IM IMAGE Launches image manager
J JOIN Joins 2 objects to form single object
JPGOUT JPGOUT Creates a JPEG file of current drawing
L LINE Draw a line
LA LAYER Opens layer manager
LE QLEADER Draw a leader line (may need to adjust settings)
LEAD LEADER Leader line with annotation
LI or LS LIST Display information about objects in a text window
LO -LAYOUT Creates a new layout tab
LTS LTScale Change the linetype scale
M MOVE Move a selection
MA MATCHPROPERTIES Match properties of an object
ME MEASURE Inserts point node at input distance
O OFFSET Offset a selection
OP OPTIONS Launches options dialogue box
P PAN Pan in drawing
PE POLYEDIT Edit a polyline
PL PLINE Draw a polyline
PLOT PLOT Opens plot/print dialogue box
allows you to plot all sheets at the same time.
- it can be done in background while youre working
PUB PUBLISH - it takes the plot style from the Page Setup Manager
of each sheet
Point marker or node - DDPTYPE to change
PO POINT
pointstyle
PR PROPERTIES Opens properties dialogue box
PRE PREVIEW Preview a plot
Opens purge dialogue box to remove unused
PU PURGE
elements
RE REGEN Regenerate the display
REC RECTANG Draw a rectangle
Opens rename dialogue box to rename blocks,
REN RENAME
layers, etc
RO ROTATE Rotate a selection
Spell check a selection - ALL to check entire
SP SPELL
drawing
T MTEXT Insert multiline text
TB TABLE Opens insert a table dialogue box
TP TOOLPALETTES Displays toolpalette
TR TRIM Trim a selection
U UNDO Undo last command
UN UNITS Opens units dialogue box
V VIEW Opens view dialogue box
W WBLOCK Write a block
WHOHAS WHOHAS Displays who has a drawing open
X EXPLODE Explode a selection
XR XREF Opens x-reference manager
Z ZOOM Zoom in display - A=All, E=EXTENTS, W=WINDOW
CONTROL KEYS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
CTRL+0 CLEANSCREEN Turns user interface elements on/off
CTRL+1 PROPERTIES Turns properties on/off
CTRL+2 ADCENTER Turns design center on/off
CTRL+3 TOOLPALETTES Turns tool palettes window on/off
CTRL+8 QUICKCALC Launches calculator window
CTRL+A Select all
CTRL+C COPYCLIP Copies objects to clipboard
CTRL+H Turns a group on or off
CTRL+J Repeats last command
CTRL+N NEW Opens create new drawing dialogue box
CTRL+O OPEN Opens the select file dialogue box
CTRL+P PLOT Opens the plot dialogue box
CTRL+R CVPORT Switches between viewports
CTRL+S QSAVE Opens the save drawing as dialogue box
CTRL+SHIFT+ S Save as
CTRL+V PASTECLIP Pastes data from clipboard to drawing
CTRL+X CUTCLIP Removes select object from drawing to clipboard
CTRL+Y REDO Performs the operation cancelled by UNDO
CTRL+Z UNDO Undoes the last operation
CTRL+TAB Switches between open drawings
CTRL+PAGE UP Switch up between layout tabs
CTRL+PAGE DOWN Switch down between layout tabs
ARROW Recall last command
UP/Down
COORDINATE ENTRY
SECOND_COMMAND COMMENT
Location measured by distance from 0,0 in current
#X,Y
UCS
@X,Y Location measured by distance from last point
Location measured by distance and angle from 0,0
#distance<angle
in current UCS
Location measured by distance and angle from last
@distance<angl e
point
Location by extracting and combining coordinate
.x or.y or .xy etc
values from 2 or 3 points
Location direct from current position in direction of
distance
movement
<angle An angle override from current point
DIMENSIONING
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
CTRL+8 QUICKCALC Displays the calculator
D DIMSTYLE Opens dimension style manager dialogue box
DAL DIMALIGNED Aligned linear dimension line
DAN DIMANGULAR Angular dimension line
DAR DIMARC Arc length dimension
Ordinate dimension from baseline of previous
DBA DIMBASELINE
dimension
Ordinate dimension from 2nd extension line of
DCO DIMCONTINUE
previous dimension
DDI DIMDIAMETER Diameter dimension for circles and arcs
DED DIMEDIT Edit dimension text on dimension objects
DI DIST Check a distance
DIMCENTER DIMCENTER Creates center mark
DLI DIMLINEAR Linear dimension
DOR DIMORDINATE Ordinate point dimension
DOV DIMOVERRIDE Override dimension style
DRA DIMRADIUS Radial dimension for circles and arcs
ID ID Display the co-ordinate values of a point
UN UNITS Opens drawing units dialogue box
DRAWING OBJECTS
TIP
1. Use PO to create node point - if you do not see anything try changing the node properties
DDPTYPE.
2. Alternatively set PDMODE to 3 to display an X at id point set PDMODE to 0 to clear.
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
A ARC Draw an arc with 3 points
B BLOCK Opens block dialogue box in order to make a block
BO BOUNDARY Draw a boundary
C CIRCLE Draw a circle
DO DONUT Draw a solid donut shape
DT TEXT Single line text
DIV DIVIDE Inserts point node a set division
EL ELLIPSE Draw an ellipse
F FILLET Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines
G GROUP Opens object grouping dialogue
H HATCH Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box
L LINE Draw a line
LE QLEADER Draw a leader line (may need to adjust settings)
LEAD LEADER Leader line with annotation
ML MLINE Draw multilines
O OFFSET Offset an object by distance
PL PLINE Draw a polyline - a complex line
Point marker or node - DDPTYPE to change
PO POINT
pointstyle
POL POLYGON Draw a regular polygon 3 to 1024 sides
RAY RAY Construction line in one direction
REC RECTANG Draw a rectangle
REG REGION Region - for shading for example
REVCLOUD REVCLOUD Revision cloud - note can select a polyline
SPL SPLINE Spline or smooth curve along points
T MTEXT Multi-line text
WIPEOUT WIPEOUT Masks part of drawing for clarity
XL XLINE Construction line of infinite length
EXTERNAL REFERENCES - XREF
TIP
1. Using RELATIVE PATH to find the Xref file relative to the existing location can be a benefit if files
are moved between locations or sent to others.
2. OVERLAID should be used in place of ATTACH if 2 drawings share a common Xref, eg a
mechanical drawing could be overlaid an electrical drawing to prevent the building outline
‘appearing’ twice.
3. if you change the parameters of a dimensions in which you want it to be, RIGHT-CLICK-
DIMENSION STYLE-SAVE AS NEW STYLE, and you will get those parameters in your style.
NOTES
1. If a drawing has an Xref, the status bar will show the Manage Xref icon.
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
REFEDIT REFEDIT Edit an external reference in place
Opens select reference file dialogue for attaching
XA XATTACH
Xref
Opens Xbind dialogue - allows import only of
XB XBIND
symbols etc
XC XCLIP Create a border in an xref to hide outside area
XOPEN XOPEN Opens a selected xref in a new window
DWGF DWGFADECTL controls the transparency of the XREF
XR XREF Opens Xref manager dialogue box
FORMATTING
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
AP APPLOAD Opens application load dialogue box
BE BEDIT Opens the edit block definition dialogue box
BH BHATCH Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box
CUI Opens customise user interface dialogue
D DIMSTYLE Opens dimension style manager dialogue box
DC ADCENTER Opens designcenter
DDPTYPE DDPTYPE Opens point style dialogue box
LA LAYER Opens layer manager
LT DDLTYPE Opens line type manager
LTS LTSCALE Change the linetype scale
LW LWEIGHT Opens line weight settings dialogue box
MA MATCHPROPERTIES Match properties of an object
OP OPTIONS Launches options dialogue box
OS DDOSNAP Opens drafting settings object snap dialogue
PR DDCHPROP Opens properties dialogue box
SSM SHEETSET Opens sheet set manager palette
ST DDSTYLE Opens text style dialogue box
TP TOOLPALETTES Displays toolpalette
TS TABLESTYLE Opens table style dialogue box
FUNCTION KEYS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
F1 HELP Opens Autocad help
F2 TEXTSCR GRAPHSCR Switches between text screen and graphic area
F3 OSNAP Switches osnap on/off
F5 or CTRL+E ISOPLANE Cycles through isoplanes
F6 or CTRL+D COORDS Turns coordinate display on/off
F7 or CTRL+G GRID Turns grid on/off
F8 or CTRL+L ORTHO Turns ortho on/off
F9 or CTRL+B SNAP Turns snap on/off
F10 or CTRL+U POLAR Turns polar on/off
F11 or CTRL+W OSNAP TRACK Turns object snap tracking on/off
F12 DYNMODE Turns dynamic input on/off
INQUIRY
TIP
1. If you wish to identify a known location use ID and enter co-ordinates on command line to mark
that location with a node point - if you do not see anything try changing the node properties
DDPTYPE.
2. Alternatively set PDMODE to 3 to display an X at id point set PDMODE to 0 to clear.
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
AA AREA Calculate the area
DI DIST Calculate a distance and angle
DDPTYPE DDPTYPE Opens point style dialogue box
ID ID Display the co-ordinate values of a point
LI or LS LIST Display information about objects in a text window
MASSPROP MASSPROP Calculate the region/mass properties of a solid
PR PROPERTIES Opens properties dialogue box
WHOHAS WHOHAS Displays who has a drawing open
Lists type/block name/layer name/color/linetype
XLIST XLIST
of a nested object in a block or an xref
LAYERS
TIP
Layer States - Create a layer state in Layer Manager (LA then Alt+S) to quickly switch between
different layer property settings.
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
AA AREA Calculate the area
DI DIST Calculate a distance and angle
DDPTYPE DDPTYPE Opens point style dialogue box
ID ID Display the co-ordinate values of a point
LI or LS LIST Display information about objects in a text window
MASSPROP MASSPROP Calculate the region/mass properties of a solid
PR PROPERTIES Opens properties dialogue box
WHOHAS WHOHAS Displays who has a drawing open
Lists type/block name/layer name/color/linetype
XLIST XLIST
of a nested object in a block or an xref
MODIFYING OBJECTS
TIP
1. When a grip point is selected cycle through command options using keyboard spacebar -
sequence STRETCH, MOVE, ROTATE, SCALE, MIRROR.
2. Switch between Group and Ungroup using CTRL+H, yes H!!
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
AL ALIGN Align an object with another
AR ARRAY Make multiple copies of an object
BR BREAK Break a line by defining 2 points
CO or CP COPY Copy object
COPYTOLAYE R COPYTOLAYER Copy object from one layer to another
CHA CHAMFER Chamfer between 2 non-parallel lines
E ERASE Erase selection
EX EXTEND Extend a line to meet another
F FILLET Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines
Opens object grouping dialogue - use to copy or
G GROUP
move
LEN LENGTHEN Lengthen or shorten a line
M MOVE Move an object
MI MIRROR Mirror an object
Copy move and rotate an object with one
MOCORO MOVE/COPY/ROTAT E
command
O OFFSET Offset an object by distance
RO ROTATE Rotate an object
S STRETCH Stretch an object
SC SCALE Scale an object
TR TRIM Trim objects
X EXPLODE Explode single entity to component parts
OBJECT SELECTION
TIP
1. Use SHIFT+LEFT MOUSE BUTTON to deselect an object.
2. When a grip point is selected cycle through command options using keyboard spacebar -
sequence STRETCH, MOVE, ROTATE, SCALE, MIRROR.
3. Object Cycling - hold down the Control key while picking, AutoCAD will cycle through all the
objects that fall under the pickbox as you continue to pick. When the correct object is highlighted,
simply hit Enter. You don't need to continue to hold down the Control key after the first pick.
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
Adds each successive object, switches from
A ADD
remove
ALL ALL All objects on thawed layers
CP CPOLYGON Objects touching or enclosed by selection polygon
Objects touched or enclosed by window - Move
C CROSSING
right to left
F FENCE Objects touch by single selection fence
Opens object grouping dialogue - use with
G GROUP
copy/move/etc
L LAST Most recently created visible object
P PREVIOUS Most recent selection set
R REMOVE Objects to remove from selection set
SNAPANG SNAPANGLE Change the snap angle from default 0°
W WINDOW Objects enclosed by window - Move left to right
WP WPOLYGON Objects within a window polygon
OBJECT SNAP - OSNAP
TIP
1. Use TAB to cycle through Osnap points.
2. SHIFT+RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON to reveal Osnap options
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
F3 OSNAP Switches osnap on/off
F9 or CTRL+B SNAP Turns snap on/off
F11 or CTRL+W OSNAP TRACK Turns object snap tracking on/off
APP APPARENT INT Apparent intersection of 2 objects
CEN CENof Snap to centre point
DS DDOSNAP Opens drafting settings/object snap dialogue
END ENDPOINT Snap to end of line etc
EXT EXTENSION Extends lines beyond endpoint
FRO FROM Snap to an offset distance from an object snap
INS INSERTION Snap to insertion point of text or block
INT INTERSECTION Snap to intersection of lines, circles, arcs
MID MIDPOINT Snap to midpoint of line etc
MTP Snap midpoint between two points
NEA NEAREST Snap near to an object
NOD NODE Snap to point node
NON NONE Turns off object snap modes
PAR PARALLEL Continues a line parallel to existing
PER PERPENDICULAR Snap to perpendicular of line etc
QUA QUADRANT Snap to quadrant of circle, arc, ellipse
TAN TANGENT Snap to tangent of circle, arc, ellipse
TK TRACK Locate points without drawing lines
TT TT Temporary tracking point
TEXT
TIPS
1. To fit or align text in a defined area use DTEXT and select JUSTIFY/ALIGN or FIT - very useful if
text is enclosed by a rectangle/ circle/etc.
NOTES
1. Text entered in paperspace is 1:1, e.g. 5mm high text will print 5mm high.
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
Single line dynamic text - Justify/Align to fit within
DT DTEXT
text line
ED DDEDIT Edit text
FIND FIND Opens find and replace dialogue box
JUSTIFYTEXT JUSTIFYTEXT Change the justification point without moving text
MIRRTEXT MIRRTEXT Mirrtext 0 to turn off
SCALETEXT SCALETEXT Scales text without moving the text insertion point
SPELL SPELLCHECK Performs spellcheck - ALL checks all text in drawing
ST STYLE Opens text style dialogue box
T or MT MTEXT Multiline/paragraph text
Places circle, slot, or rectangle around each selected
TCIRCLE TCIRCLE
text object
TEXT DTEXT Single line dynamic text
Stretches/shrinks text by selecting new start and/or
TEXTFIT TEXTFIT
end points
TORIENT TORIENT Rotates text, mtext, and attribute definition objects
TXT2MTXT TXT2MTXT Converts DTEXT to MTEXT
WIPEOUT WIPEOUT Masks part of drawing for clarity
VIEW PORTS
TIP
1. To prevent a viewport from editing right mouse click on the viewport and select DISPLAY
LOCKED/YES
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
CTRL+R Cycle through viewports
CTRL+PAGE UP Switch up between layout tabs
CTRL+PAGE DOWN Switch down between layout tabs
DV DVIEW Perspective view.
MS MSPACE Switch to modelspace in a viewport
MV MVIEW Make a viewport in paperspace
PS PSPACE Switch to paperspace from viewport
VPORTS VPORTS Opens viewports dialogue box
-VPORTS -VPORTS Create a viewport using command line
