BDA 10102

COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN

CHAPTER 1 :
INTRODUCTION TO
AUTOCAD
 The Benefits of AutoCAD
• Quickly create designs

• Improved quality over hand drafting

• Can be customized to suit the individual’s needs

• Teaches a marketable skill

The AutoCAD 2010 Screen

1.Application Menu 6.Drawing Area

2.Quick Access Toolbar 7.Crosshairs
3.Info Center 8.Command Windows
4.Tittle Bar 9.Status Bar
5.Ribbon
AutoCAD 2010 Workspace
AutoCAD 2010 with 2D Drafting & Annotation workspace
active.
AutoCAD 2010 with 3D Modeling workspace active
AutoCAD 2010 with AutoCAD Classic workspace active.
Setting The Workspace
Steps to activating the 2d Drafting & Annotation workspace
1. Start AutoCAD
2. Use the default drawing or on the Quick Access toolbar, click NEW.
3. Select acad.dwt (imperial) or acadiso.dwt (metric) as the
template file.
4. Click the Workspace settings icon, located at the bottom right
corner of the AutoCAD window. Select 2D Drafting & Annotation.
Keyboard Input
Special Keys
Use the ESC key to cancel all current actions and return to the Command:
prompt.
Press the ENTER key following all keyboard input. You also complete many
commands by pressing ENTER.
Pressing the SPACEBAR is equivalent to pressing the ENTER key and is often
easier to use.
Pressing the SPACEBAR or ENTER at the Command: prompt repeats the last
command used.
Pressing the UP and DOWN arrow keys will cycle through previous commands
used.
The TAB key is especially useful to navigate in a dialog box. You should use the
TAB key to move from field to field. Be careful not to press ENTER.
User Interface Layout
1. Tabs: Identifies the purpose and name of the control
panel.
2. Panels: Contains groups of related tools associated
with the selected tools.
3. More tools: Click and hold the down arrow to display
more tools and options in the selected panel.

To turn specific tabs/panels on or off, right-click in the

ribbon and select Tabs/Panels.
Command Window
The command window is normally located at the bottom of the
application window and docked between the drawing area and
status bar. Whether you enter a command manually at the
command line or click a command tool on a toolbar, all commands
are passed through and evaluated by the command line.
Working with Files
Drawings are created and saved in the DWG drawing file format.
To access this data, you must learn how to create a new
drawing, save a drawing, and open these file types. Use the
Quick Access toolbar to create, open, and save new drawings.
Displaying Objects
When you use the software, you draw all objects at full
scale. Sometimes you need to view the whole drawing,
sometimes just smaller details. To assist you in viewing
different areas of the drawing, there are a number of
zoom and pan tools. You can easily magnify small areas
of your drawing to provide a closer view or shift the
view to a different or larger part of the drawing.
Displaying Objects
Zoom Tools
Zoom tools help to assist you in viewing different areas of the
drawing to get a closer view.
Pan Tools
You can reposition the centre of your view on the drawing by
using the Pan command.

Shortcut for Zoom/Pan

How To Use The Wheel Mouse
 END
OF
LESSON 1