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Tutorial 1 PDF
Tutorial 1 PDF
Introduction
In this first tutorial you will learn how to start AutoCAD, use the programmes graphical user
interface, save a drawing and a range of common drawing commands.
If this window does not display, the system variables STARTUP and FILEDIA should be set to
1 in the following way:
Type STARTUP at the command line and then press ENTER
Enter new value for STARTUP <0>:
1
(type 1 and press )
Repeat it for the system variable FILEDIA.
Command:
FILEDIA
(type FILEDIA and press )
Enter new value for FILEDIA <0>:
1
(type 1 and press )
Open a drawing
Use a template
Use a wizard
Layers Toolbar
Standard Toolbar
Draw Toolbar
Modify Toolbar
Graphic Area
Command Area
Status Area
6. The status area, at the bottom of the AutoCAD window, this includes the current
cursor position.
Command Entry
Typically there are three ways of giving a command!
1. Type the command using the keyboard - the command is displayed in the command
area. Most commands can be activated by using their abbreviations, for example
circle command can be activated by entering c at the command line; line by l; copy
by co; rotate by ro
Drawing a Rectangle
Click on the OTRACK and DYN buttons in the status area to turn them off.
Select Rectangle (or type rectang ); then type the co-ordinates of:
15, 15
415, 315 Note: These are absolute Cartesian Co-ordinates
[The text typed is displayed in the command area at the bottom of AutoCAD's window].
Command: RECTANG
Specify first corner point or [Chamfer/Elevation/Fillet/Thickness/Width]: 15,15
Specify other corner point or [Area/Dimensions/Rotation]: 415,315
AutoCAD will draw a rectangle, which fits comfortably in the AutoCAD graphics area! If
you can't see the rectangle, type z [space] a [space] (zoom all). This instructs
AutoCAD to redraw the view, zooming out to show all the graphics on the drawing.
We will now draw some more graphics and then save and exit AutoCAD.
Select
Move the crosshair to near the bottom-left of the rectangle and click the left mouse
button, then shift the crosshair to the top-right of the rectangle and again click the left
mouse button, the exact position of the lines are not important.
Press to terminate the command, and then press again to re-start the command!
[Remember this! If you press after you finish a command, the command is re-issued].
Draw a line from the top-left to the bottom-right of the rectangle, and then press .
USEFUL HINTS:
If you make a mistake press Esc the escape key, located at the top-left of the keyboard).
Then type u or click on
Saving a Drawing
Select the Save icon from
before, so AutoCAD will display the SAVE AS dialog box, select the appropriate Drive
and Directory (for example: S:\arch\u1234567), type the drawing name (for
example TUT1), and then select "OK".
Click on Browse
Co-ordinate Systems
When specifying positions you can use Cartesian or Polar Co-ordinates. Cartesian Coordinates are simply an X value, a comma, and a Y value, for example: 100,100.
Polar co-ordinates are a Distance followed by a < symbol and an angle, for example:
10<25. Angles are measured in degrees, with 0 = East and 90 = North. Any of these
numbers can have decimal values (angle can be preceded by -, in AutoCAD positive
values are anti-clockwise and negative values are clockwise).
[AutoCAD is a three dimensional CAD system, so you can enter XYZ values instead of the
XY values shown here].
Tutorial 1: Introducing AutoCAD 2008 and Preparing to Draw
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The positions specified above are absolute co-ordinates, because they specify a
particular position. AutoCAD can also use relative co-ordinates to specify a position
relative to the current position, for example: @ 5.6,-3.4 and @ 16.32<62.
NOTE: If you turn the DYN button in the status area on, the Dynamic Input will be activated.
Dynamic Input allows you to keep your attention near the cursor and takes all the values you
enter as relative company-ordinates. Therefore you dont need to use @ in DYN mode.
Drawing a Diamond
The polyline illustrated below is used to create a sequence of joined line segments, which
become one object. Using the line command each line segment is a separate object.
From the Draw toolbar, select Polyline
co-ordinates:
220,20
[absolute Cartesian co-ordinate]
@184<45
@184<135 [relative polar co-ordinates]
@184<225
c (to close the polyline)
[This should draw you a diamond (a rotated rectangle) shape].
Note
If you make a mistake, you can undo the last line segment by typing u
Snap Modes
Object Snaps, or Osnaps, let you draw quickly while ensuring complete accuracy in
specifying point locations. Object snaps impart intelligence to your mouse cursor by
snapping to locations on existing objects.
For example:
END snaps to the endpoint of a line, arc, etc.
MID snaps to the midpoint of an entity.
CEN snaps to the centre of an entity.
INT snaps to the intersection of two objects.
Many other object snaps are available, including tangent, perpendicular, and quadrant.
Tutorial 1: Introducing AutoCAD 2008 and Preparing to Draw
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It is often useful to be able to draw something from (for example) the end of another shape.
AutoCAD has a large selection of snap modes for this purpose. The most commonly used
snap modes are Endpoint (which snaps to the end of the selected graphics entity) and
Intersection (which snaps to the intersection of two graphics entities).
[A simple way to turn Object Snap ON or OFF, is to click on "OSNAP" in the status Area.
Alternatively F3 function key can be used. In both cases if no snap settings have been set, the
"Osnap Settings" dialog box will be displayed].
The object snap modes can either be typed or selected from the snap toolbar
[To get AutoCAD to display the Object Snap Modes toolbar, if it is not already displayed,
select "Toolbars" from the "View" menu and then select "Object Snap". To display the
"Osnap Settings" dialog, close the Customize Dialog. Drag and move the Object Snap
Toolbar to a suitable position]
Drawing Circles
To draw a circle you can either pick the CIRCLE option from the menu and then pick
centre, radius or enter the command CIRCLE or shortly C at the keyboard. You will
then need to specify the co-ordinates of the centre and the length of its radius.
e.g. 1
Command: c
Activate the circle command
CIRCLE Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]:
Pick a
point.
Specify radius of circle or [Diameter]:
Move the mouse and pick another point.
e.g. 2
Command: c
CIRCLE Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]:
Specify radius of circle or [Diameter]:
50
300, 200
Drawing Arcs
There are many ways of defining and drawing arcs with AutoCAD. Three useful methods
will be described here.
From the ARC menu pick the 3-point option.
Command: arc
Specify start point of arc or [Center]:
pick a point.
Specify second point of arc or [Center/End]:
pick a second point
Tutorial 1: Introducing AutoCAD 2008 and Preparing to Draw
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drag the curve around using the mouse and then pick
Alternatively the co-ordinates of all three points could have been input at the keyboard or by
using OSNAP.
The second method follows from the screen prompt given above. To draw an arc for which
we know the centre, start and end follow the prompts as follows:
Command: arc
Specify start point of arc or [Center]:
Exercise
Using the Rectangle Command
Select Rectangle from the Draw Toolbar (or type rectang ); then type the co-ordinates of:
20,20
400, 280
Using Polyline
The polyline illustrated below is used to create a sequence of joined line segments, which
become one object. Using the line command each line segment is a separate object.
210,20
[absolute Cartesian co-ordinate]
@184<45
@184<135 [relative polar co-ordinates]
@184<225
Type: c
Drawing an Arc
From the pull down menu click on: Draw Arc 3 point s (or type ARC) then type
145, 85
275,85
275, 215
Finish the drawing so that it will look like the figure below.
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