LESSON 7: INTRODUCTION TO DRAWING & MODIFYING

Topics covered in this Lesson:

Line | Circle | Erase | Print | Undo

Command Keystroke Icon Ribbon Location Result

Draw a straight line segment from one

LINE Line / L Home > LIne
point to the next

Home> Circle > Draws a circle based on a center point and

CIRCLE Circle / C
Center, Radius radius.

ERASE Erase / E Home > Erase Erases an object.

Home > Arc > Draws an arc based on a center point and
ARC Arc / A
Center, Start, End 2 endpoints

Print / Plot Quick Access Toolbar Enables the Print/Plot Configuration Dialog
PLOT
CTRL+P > Print Box

Quick Access Toolbar

UNDO U / CTRL+Z > Undoes the last command.
Undo

EXERCISE#1
Steps:
Start AutoCAD and a new drawing by pressing the NEW Icon at the top left of your AutoCAD window.
There are actually 3 ways to star a new drawing. The fastest is to press CTRL+N, but you can use the icon shown in the image
above or type in the command QNEW. Any way you do this, you will see a dialog box open that asks you to select a template
drawing to use (as shown below):

AutoCAD doesn't locate your templates automatically, they can be hard to find. Have a look in your:
C:\Users\[PROFILE]\AppData\Local\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2016 - English\R20.1\enu\Template folder. You will find it there. Of
course, you can also copy your templates to a folder that is easier to locate.

Select the "acad.dwt" template file and press the Open button to continue to the drawing screen.
Once there, type in Z <ENTER> E <ENTER> this will zoom into to the extents of the drawing area and make it easier to see
what you are drawing (NOTE: nothing will appear to happen). Also if you find that the grid distracts you, you can press F7 to toggle
it on or off.

For all lessons on this level, make sure that you do not have Dynamic Input turned on. You can check this on the status bar.
Make sure the DYN button isn't active. (Dynamic Input affects relative coordinates in some versions of AutoCAD.) Also, leaving
Dynamic Input turned off keeps the screen clearer and easier for you to concentrate on what you are drawing.
Your status bar buttons (bottom of the screen) should like the image above with the Dynamic Input button grey.

Start the LINE command (as explained in the table above) and draw a line from 1,2 to 3,2 to 3,4 to 1,4 Press enter after each
point. (*Remember to watch the command line as you do this.) For the last line, you can either type in 1,2 or C to close the line
back to the first point you entered. You have just drawn a 2" square using absolute co-ordinates. Your command history (F2 key)
should look like this:
Command: L LINE Specify first point: 1,2
Specify next point or [Undo]: 3,2
Specify next point or [Undo]: 3,4
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: 1,4
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: 1,2
Specify next point or [Close/Undo]: <ENTER>

If you make a mistake, you can use the undo icon, press U or press CTRL+Z.
You can also use the ERASE command to get rid of lines you don't want.
Next draw a similar box using relative co-ordinates. Start the LINE command and begin at point 4.5,2. From there draw a line
two units to the right by typing @2,0 (this means 2 units in the X direction, 0 units in the Y direction based on the last point you
entered). Next type @0,2 then @-2,0 then @0,-2 to finish the box. (Remember to press enter after each point.)
Now erase the last box you just drew. Start the ERASE command and then select the lines you want to erase. Then press
<enter>. Now redraw the box for more practice!

BREAK TIME : Take a moment to think about what you just did. You first drew lines
based on ABSOLUTE points on the screen. Then you drew lines based on points
RELATIVE to other points and objects. the difference is critical.

Draw a third box using polar co-ordinate input. Start the LINE command and begin at point 8,2 then enter. Type @1<45 to
draw the first line. Next enter @1<135 then @1<225 then @1<315 (or C to close). What you have just done is drawn a
line 1 unit long at 45 , then another at 135 and so on. Do the angles you entered make sense to you? If not, review it.
o o

Start the CIRCLE command and add a circle that has a center point at 7,6 with a radius of .75 (Watch the command line for
instructions).

The last thing to draw is the arc (curved line) that you see in the bottom left square. Start the ARC command and select the Center
option by pressing the "C" key.
Now you can enter the center point which will be 1,2. Then you'll be prompted for the start point, enter 3,2 and finally the end
point 1,4.
Command: A <enter> ARC
Specify start point of arc or [Center]: C
Specify center point of arc: 1,2
Specify start point of arc: 3,2
Specify end point of arc or [Angle/chord Length]: 1,4
There are many different ways to draw an arc. Try another method in the other square. Also, you'll learn later that you can draw a
circle and then trim it to leave an arc. To finish the drawing, try putting a 10"x7" border around the page starting at 0,0 using the
any of the methods shown above (relative, absolute or polar).

When you have done, the next step is to print (or plot) it out. To do this, bring up the plot dialog box using any method explained
above (PLOT <enter>). Set it up to print as shown below. Follow these steps for a successful plot (see diagram below):
Select your printer - laser or inkjet will work fine.
Select the paper size - "Letter" ( 8-1/2" x 11") is needed in this case.
For the "Plot Area", select "Extents" - that will plot everything you drew.
Select the checkbox to "Center the Plot" on your sheet of paper (looks better).
If "Fit to Paper" is selected by default, uncheck it and select a scale of 1 inch to 1 paper unit (1:1). This will make your printout 'life-
sized'.
Now Preview your drawing. I strongly recommend that you preview EVERY drawing you will ever draw in AutoCAD - a lot can go
wrong, so you don't want to waste paper (especially when you're using expensive 3'x4' sheets!).If your preview looks good, Cancel
out of the preview by pressing ESC.
If you're sure that everything's ok (this is where good habits begin), press the OK button.

Note: You may have to change the paper size in your printer (Use the Windows printer settings to do this.) You may also have to
change the rotation or origin of the plot. Check the Landscape radio button in the Drawing Orientation section.
If everything worked out, you should be able to measure your drawing and have it exactly the way you drew it (a couple of 2"
squares, an angled 1" square and a 1-1/2" circle).

Save your drawing as you would any other Windows file. CTRL+S will bring up the Save or Save as dialog box.