layer

AUTOCAD 2005

QUICK REFERENCE

Command Aliases
Shortcut Keys
Coordinate Entry
System Variables
Object Selection
AutoCAD 2005 Interface

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respective holders.
 Command Aliases
Command Alias Command Alias

ADCENTER dc LINE l
ARC a MOVE m
BLOCK b MTEXT t
CIRCLE c OFFSET o
COPY co OPTIONS op
DIMSTYLE d PAN p
DIST di PLINE pl
DSETTINGS ds PROPERTIES pr
ERASE e ROTATE ro
EXPLODE x TABLE tb
EXTEND ex TOOLPALETTES tp
FILLET f TRIM tr
HATCH h UNDO u
INSERT i XREF xr
LAYER la ZOOM z

You can define your own command aliases; see Create Command Aliases in the Help system. For a complete
list of command aliases, see Command Aliases in the Help system.

Shortcut Keys
Shortcut Keys Description Command or System Variable

F1 Opens the Help system HELP

F2 Switches between text window and drawing area GRAPHSCR, TEXTSCR
F3 Turns running object snaps on and off OSNAP
F6 Changes the coordinate display on the status bar COORDS
F7 Turns the grid on and off GRID
F8 Turns Ortho mode on and off ORTHO
F9 Turns Snap on and off SNAP
F10 Turns polar tracking on and off DSETTINGS
F11 Turns object snap tracking on and off DSETTINGS
CTRL+0 Turns user interface elements on and off CLEANSCREENON/OFF
CTRL+R Cycles through viewports CVPORT

You can add or modify shortcut keys on the Keyboard tab of the Customize dialog box.
 Coordinate Entry

Method Format Description

Absolute Cartesian X,Y Specifies a location measured by

coordinates distances from 0,0 in the current UCS
Relative Cartesian @X,Y Specifies a location measured by dis-
coordinates tances from the last point
Absolute polar coordinates distance<angle Specifies a location measured by distance
and angle from 0,0 in the current UCS
Relative polar coordinates @distance<angle Specifies a location measured by distance
and angle from the last point
Coordinate filters .x or .y or .z or Specifies a location by extracting and
.xy or .yz or .xz combining one or more coordinate
values from other locations
Direct distance entry distance Specifies a location by using the direction
that you move the pointing device and
the numeric distance you enter

Enter coordinates, filters, and distances at any point prompt on the command line.

System Variables

System Variable Description

MIRRTEXT Controls how the MIRROR command reflects text

PICKADD Controls whether new selections replace the current selection set or
add to it
PICKFIRST Controls whether you select objects before you start a command or after
PICKSTYLE Controls the use of group selection and associative hatch selection
PSLTSCALE Controls linetype scaling in a layout
STARTUP Controls whether the Create New Drawing dialog box is displayed when
starting a new drawing
UCSICON Controls the display of the UCS icon in the current viewport
VISRETAIN Controls the visibility, color, linetype, lineweight, and plot styles of
xref-dependent layers
XLOADCTL Turns xref demand-loading on and off and controls whether it opens the
original drawing or a copy

For a complete list of system variables, see the Command Reference in the Help system. For information about
changing a system variable value, see Enter System Variables on the Command Line in the Help system.
. Object Selection

To select Use this method at the

Select Objects prompt

Individual objects Click the object you

want to select
Overlapping objects by cycling through them Hold down CTRL
and click near the
object until it is high-
lighted, and then
press ENTER
Most recently created visible object Last (enter L)
Most recent selection set Previous (enter p)
Add or remove objects from selection Hold down SHIFT
and select objects
Objects touching or enclosed by the crossing Crossing (drag
selection; selected objects are gray in the cursor from right to 2

illustration left, or enter c)

Objects completely within the window selection; Window (drag

2
selected objects are gray in the illustration cursor from left to
right, or enter w)

Objects touched by a fence (a crossing polyline); Fence (enter f)

selected objects are gray in the illustration

Objects crossing or completely within a polygon; CPolygon

selected objects are gray in the illustration (enter cp)

Objects completely within a polygon; selected WPolygon

objects are gray in the illustration (enter wp)
 AutoCAD 2005 Interface

Current Tab
Tool Palettes
You can place frequently used blocks,
hatches, and commands on a tool
palette.
Drag drawings, blocks, and hatches
from DesignCenter to the tool
palette. When you need to add a
block or a hatch to a drawing, drag it
from the tool palette onto your
drawing.
Other Tabs
Create command tools on the tool
palette. Right-click on the title bar of
the tool palette, and then click
Customize on the shortcut menu.
Right-click in a tool palette to display
a relevant shortcut menu. You can
right-click an icon, an empty area, a
tab, or the title bar.

DesignCenter
With DesignCenter, you can organize
access to drawings, blocks, hatches, and
other drawing content.
You can drag content from any source
drawing to your current drawing. You can
also drag drawings, blocks, and hatches
to a tool palette.
Right-click in DesignCenter to display a
relevant shortcut menu. You can right-
click an icon, an empty area, a tab, or the
title bar.
 text style stack/unstack text
user-set tab stop text color
font text height
save changes
and close the
editor

ruler

first line indent marker default tab stops

paragraph indent marker

Multiline Text Editor

A multiline text (mtext) object includes one or more paragraphs of text that can be
manipulated as a single object. You can set tabs to indent text; you can also set text
properties such as the text font, text height, and text color for selected characters,
words, or the entire mtext object.

Tray Settings
When tray
settings are
turned on,
icons and
notifications
are displayed
in the tray at
the right end
of the status
bar.

Communication Center
With Communication Center, you can stay
informed about Autodesk company news and
product announcements, provide your feedback
directly to Autodesk, get breaking news from the
Product Support team at Autodesk, receive
announcements and subscription program news
if you are an Autodesk subscription member, and
be notified when new articles and tips are
available on Autodesk websites.