Beginning AutoCAD 2017. Cheryl R. Shrock

is on the next page.

       Method 1. Selecting a tool from the Ribbon

      1. First select a tab such as Home.

      2. Locate the correct Panel such as Draw.

      3. Select a tool such as Circle

       Note:

      If the tool includes multiple types it will have a down-arrow

      If you select the down-arrow a sub-menu will appear.

      Select the desired type such as 2-Point.

      The latest selection will then become the current displayed tool because AutoCAD assumes that you may need that tool again.

       Method 2. Keyboard entry

      You may type commands on the Command line (Shown below) or in the Dynamic Input tooltip (Shown on the next page)

      It depends on whether you have Dynamic Input On or Off.

       COMMAND LINE

       How to enter a command on the Command Line.

      1. Place the cursor in the Command Line area. (Important)

      2. Type the first letter of a command, such as c for circle.

      3. A list of commands that begin with the letter c will appear. Select the command from the list.

      4. When you enter a command such as Circle the prompt and options will be displayed on the command line.

      5. The prompt for Circle command asks you to:

      “Specify center point for circle” or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]:

      The information within the [ ] brackets are options that you may select.

       DYNAMIC INPUT

      Dynamic Input is another method of inputting commands, values and select options.

      To use Dynamic Input you must turn ON the DYNAMIC INPUT button in the Status Bar, shown on page 1-14.

      If you choose to use Dynamic Input the command will be entered in the tooltip box beside the cursor.

       How to enter a command using Dynamic Input.

      1. Place the cursor in the Drawing Area. (Important)

      2. Type the first letter of a command, such as c for circle.

      3. A list of commands that begin with the letter c will appear.

      Select the command from the list.

      4. If you press the down arrow the options will appear below the prompt.

      Notice the command entry and prompts are being displayed on the command line also.

      Using the Command Line or Dynamic Input is your choice.

DRAWING LINES

      A Line can be one segment or a series of connected segments.

      But each segment is an individual object.

      Start the Line command using one of the following methods:

      Ribbon = Home tab / Draw Panel /

       or

       Keyboard = L <enter>

      Lines are drawn by specifying the locations for each endpoint.

      Move the cursor to the location of the “First” endpoint (1) then press the left mouse button and release. (Click and release, do Click and Drag) Move the cursor again to the “next” endpoint (2) and press the left mouse button. Continue locating “next” endpoints until you want to stop drawing lines.

      There are 2 ways to Stop drawing a line:

      Press the <enter> key or press the <Space Bar>

      Helpful hint:

      To quickly repeat the Line command, press the Spacebar.

       Horizontal and Vertical Lines

      To draw a Line perfectly Horizontal or Vertical select the Ortho mode by selecting the Ortho button on the Status Bar or pressing the F8 key.

       Try the following example:

      1. Select the Line command. (Refer to the previous page)

      2. Place the First endpoint anywhere in the drawing area.

      3. Turn Ortho ON by selecting the Ortho button or F8. (The “Ortho” button will change to a neon blue when ON.)

      4. Move the cursor to the right and press the left mouse button to place the next endpoint. (The line should appear perfectly horizontal.)

      5. Move the cursor down and press the left mouse button to place the next endpoint. (The line should appear perfectly vertical)

      6. Now turn Ortho OFF by selecting the Ortho button. (The “Ortho” button will change to gray when OFF.)

      7. Now move the cursor up and to the right on an angle (the line should move freely now) and press the left mouse button to place the next endpoint.

      Ortho can be turned ON or OFF at any time while you are drawing. It can also be turned ON or OFF temporarily by holding down the Shift key. Release the Shift key