BLOCKS

TIPS
1. Create a new block on layer 0 so that the block will use the layer and properties of the current
layer it is inserted on. Text can be set to colour white.
2. Set ATTDIA to 1 to use dialog box with block attributes or 0 to use command line.
3. AutoCAD 2006 allows you to change the insertion point on the fly. INSERT and select BASEPOINT.
This allows you to pick anywhere in the drawing (and anywhere in the block you are inserting) as
your new insertion point (basepoint).
4. To edit/relocate attributes: REFEDIT to the hosting block, relocate and edit.., REFCLOSE, then
ATTSYNC to apply your changes to the attribute
5.TO RELOCATE ATTRIBUTE: enter edit block, select attribute, from properties change (LOCK
POSITION - to NO )

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

ATT ATTDEF Opens attribute definition dialogue box

ATTEDIT ATTEDIT Edit attribute values for a specific block

B BLOCK Opens block dialogue box in order to make a block

BATTMAN BATTMAN Opens block attribute manager

BATTORDER BATTORDER Displays attribute order dialogue box

BC BCLOSE Closes the block editor

BCOUNT BCOUNT Counts the blocks in a drawing

BE BEDIT Opens the edit block definition dialogue box

Enhanced attribute extraction wizard to count
EATTEXT EATTEXT
blocks
GATTE GATTE Global attribute edit of multiple blocks

I INSERT Opens insert dialogue to insert a block

-I INSERT Insert a block by name

MINSERT MINSERT Insert block in rectangular array

REFEDIT REFEDIT Edit a block reference in place

REFCLOSE REFCLOSE Closes the block reference. Ps: SAVE

ATTS ATTSYNC Applies block reference changes to attribute

Opens rename dialogue box to rename blocks,
REN RENAME
layers, etc
W WBLOCK Write a block - for use in other drawings
Lists type/block name/layer name/color/linetype
XLIST XLIST
of a nested object in a block or an xref

COMMON COMMANDS

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

A ARC Draw an arc

AL ALIGN Align an object with another

AP APPLOAD Opens application load dialogue box

AR ARRAY Opens array dialogue box

AUDIT AUDIT Audit drawing for errors

AV DSVIEWER Opens ariel view of drawing

B BLOCK Opens block dialogue box

C CIRCLE Draw a circle

CO COPY Copy an object

CHA CHAMFER Chamfer between 2 non-parallel lines

COL COLOR Opens select color dialogue box

CUI Opens customise user interface dialogue

D DIMSTYLE Opens dimstyle manager

DC ADCENTER Opens designcenter

DI DIST Check a distance

DIV DIVIDE Inserts point node a set division

DO DONUT Draw a solid donut shape

DV DVIEW Perspective view

E ERASE Erase a selection

EX EXTEND Extend a selection

F FILLET Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines

FI FILTER Opens filter dialogue box

FLATTEN FLATTEN Converts 3D to 2D

G GROUP Launches the group dialogue box

H HATCH Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box

I INSERT Insert a block

IM IMAGE Launches image manager

J JOIN Joins 2 objects to form single object

JPGOUT JPGOUT Creates a JPEG file of current drawing

L LINE Draw a line

LA LAYER Opens layer manager

LE QLEADER Draw a leader line (may need to adjust settings)

LEAD LEADER Leader line with annotation

LI or LS LIST Display information about objects in a text window

LO -LAYOUT Creates a new layout tab

LTS LTScale Change the linetype scale

M MOVE Move a selection

MA MATCHPROPERTIES Match properties of an object

ME MEASURE Inserts point node at input distance

O OFFSET Offset a selection

OP OPTIONS Launches options dialogue box

P PAN Pan in drawing

PE POLYEDIT Edit a polyline

PL PLINE Draw a polyline

PLOT PLOT Opens plot/print dialogue box

 allows you to plot all sheets at the same time.
- it can be done in background while youre working
PUB PUBLISH - it takes the plot style from the Page Setup Manager
of each sheet

Point marker or node - DDPTYPE to change

PO POINT
pointstyle

PR PROPERTIES Opens properties dialogue box

PRE PREVIEW Preview a plot

Opens purge dialogue box to remove unused
PU PURGE
elements
RE REGEN Regenerate the display

REC RECTANG Draw a rectangle

Opens rename dialogue box to rename blocks,

REN RENAME
layers, etc

RO ROTATE Rotate a selection

Spell check a selection - ALL to check entire

SP SPELL
drawing

T MTEXT Insert multiline text

TB TABLE Opens insert a table dialogue box

TP TOOLPALETTES Displays toolpalette

TR TRIM Trim a selection

U UNDO Undo last command

UN UNITS Opens units dialogue box

V VIEW Opens view dialogue box

W WBLOCK Write a block

WHOHAS WHOHAS Displays who has a drawing open

X EXPLODE Explode a selection

XR XREF Opens x-reference manager

Z ZOOM Zoom in display - A=All, E=EXTENTS, W=WINDOW

CONTROL KEYS

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

CTRL+0 CLEANSCREEN Turns user interface elements on/off

CTRL+1 PROPERTIES Turns properties on/off

CTRL+2 ADCENTER Turns design center on/off

CTRL+3 TOOLPALETTES Turns tool palettes window on/off

CTRL+8 QUICKCALC Launches calculator window

CTRL+A Select all

CTRL+C COPYCLIP Copies objects to clipboard

CTRL+H Turns a group on or off

CTRL+J Repeats last command

CTRL+N NEW Opens create new drawing dialogue box

CTRL+O OPEN Opens the select file dialogue box

CTRL+P PLOT Opens the plot dialogue box

CTRL+R CVPORT Switches between viewports

CTRL+S QSAVE Opens the save drawing as dialogue box

CTRL+SHIFT+ S Save as

CTRL+V PASTECLIP Pastes data from clipboard to drawing

CTRL+X CUTCLIP Removes select object from drawing to clipboard

CTRL+Y REDO Performs the operation cancelled by UNDO

CTRL+Z UNDO Undoes the last operation

CTRL+TAB Switches between open drawings

CTRL+PAGE UP Switch up between layout tabs

CTRL+PAGE DOWN Switch down between layout tabs

ARROW Recall last command

UP/Down

COORDINATE ENTRY

SECOND_COMMAND COMMENT

Location measured by distance from 0,0 in current

#X,Y
UCS

@X,Y Location measured by distance from last point

Location measured by distance and angle from 0,0
#distance<angle
in current UCS
Location measured by distance and angle from last
@distance<angl e
point
Location by extracting and combining coordinate
.x or.y or .xy etc
values from 2 or 3 points
Location direct from current position in direction of
distance
movement
<angle An angle override from current point

DIMENSIONING

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

CTRL+8 QUICKCALC Displays the calculator

D DIMSTYLE Opens dimension style manager dialogue box

DAL DIMALIGNED Aligned linear dimension line

DAN DIMANGULAR Angular dimension line

DAR DIMARC Arc length dimension

Ordinate dimension from baseline of previous

DBA DIMBASELINE
dimension

Ordinate dimension from 2nd extension line of

DCO DIMCONTINUE
previous dimension
DDI DIMDIAMETER Diameter dimension for circles and arcs

DED DIMEDIT Edit dimension text on dimension objects

DI DIST Check a distance

DIMCENTER DIMCENTER Creates center mark

DLI DIMLINEAR Linear dimension

DOR DIMORDINATE Ordinate point dimension

DOV DIMOVERRIDE Override dimension style

DRA DIMRADIUS Radial dimension for circles and arcs

ID ID Display the co-ordinate values of a point

UN UNITS Opens drawing units dialogue box

DRAWING OBJECTS

TIP
1. Use PO to create node point - if you do not see anything try changing the node properties
DDPTYPE.
2. Alternatively set PDMODE to 3 to display an X at id point set PDMODE to 0 to clear.

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

A ARC Draw an arc with 3 points

B BLOCK Opens block dialogue box in order to make a block

BO BOUNDARY Draw a boundary

C CIRCLE Draw a circle

DO DONUT Draw a solid donut shape

DT TEXT Single line text

DIV DIVIDE Inserts point node a set division

EL ELLIPSE Draw an ellipse

F FILLET Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines

G GROUP Opens object grouping dialogue

H HATCH Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box

L LINE Draw a line

LE QLEADER Draw a leader line (may need to adjust settings)

LEAD LEADER Leader line with annotation

ML MLINE Draw multilines

O OFFSET Offset an object by distance

PL PLINE Draw a polyline - a complex line

Point marker or node - DDPTYPE to change

PO POINT
pointstyle

POL POLYGON Draw a regular polygon 3 to 1024 sides

RAY RAY Construction line in one direction

REC RECTANG Draw a rectangle

REG REGION Region - for shading for example

REVCLOUD REVCLOUD Revision cloud - note can select a polyline

SPL SPLINE Spline or smooth curve along points

T MTEXT Multi-line text

WIPEOUT WIPEOUT Masks part of drawing for clarity

XL XLINE Construction line of infinite length

EXTERNAL REFERENCES - XREF

TIP
1. Using RELATIVE PATH to find the Xref file relative to the existing location can be a benefit if files
are moved between locations or sent to others.
2. OVERLAID should be used in place of ATTACH if 2 drawings share a common Xref, eg a
mechanical drawing could be overlaid an electrical drawing to prevent the building outline
‘appearing’ twice.
3. if you change the parameters of a dimensions in which you want it to be, RIGHT-CLICK-
DIMENSION STYLE-SAVE AS NEW STYLE, and you will get those parameters in your style.

NOTES
1. If a drawing has an Xref, the status bar will show the Manage Xref icon.

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

REFEDIT REFEDIT Edit an external reference in place

Opens select reference file dialogue for attaching
XA XATTACH
Xref
Opens Xbind dialogue - allows import only of
XB XBIND
symbols etc

XC XCLIP Create a border in an xref to hide outside area

XOPEN XOPEN Opens a selected xref in a new window

DWGF DWGFADECTL controls the transparency of the XREF

XR XREF Opens Xref manager dialogue box

FORMATTING

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

AP APPLOAD Opens application load dialogue box

BE BEDIT Opens the edit block definition dialogue box

BH BHATCH Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box

CUI Opens customise user interface dialogue

D DIMSTYLE Opens dimension style manager dialogue box

DC ADCENTER Opens designcenter

DDPTYPE DDPTYPE Opens point style dialogue box

LA LAYER Opens layer manager

LT DDLTYPE Opens line type manager

LTS LTSCALE Change the linetype scale

LW LWEIGHT Opens line weight settings dialogue box

MA MATCHPROPERTIES Match properties of an object

OP OPTIONS Launches options dialogue box

OS DDOSNAP Opens drafting settings object snap dialogue

PR DDCHPROP Opens properties dialogue box

SSM SHEETSET Opens sheet set manager palette

ST DDSTYLE Opens text style dialogue box

TP TOOLPALETTES Displays toolpalette

TS TABLESTYLE Opens table style dialogue box

FUNCTION KEYS

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

F1 HELP Opens Autocad help

F2 TEXTSCR GRAPHSCR Switches between text screen and graphic area

F3 OSNAP Switches osnap on/off

F5 or CTRL+E ISOPLANE Cycles through isoplanes

F6 or CTRL+D COORDS Turns coordinate display on/off

F7 or CTRL+G GRID Turns grid on/off

F8 or CTRL+L ORTHO Turns ortho on/off

F9 or CTRL+B SNAP Turns snap on/off

F10 or CTRL+U POLAR Turns polar on/off

F11 or CTRL+W OSNAP TRACK Turns object snap tracking on/off

F12 DYNMODE Turns dynamic input on/off

INQUIRY

TIP
1. If you wish to identify a known location use ID and enter co-ordinates on command line to mark
that location with a node point - if you do not see anything try changing the node properties
DDPTYPE.
2. Alternatively set PDMODE to 3 to display an X at id point set PDMODE to 0 to clear.

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

AA AREA Calculate the area

DI DIST Calculate a distance and angle

DDPTYPE DDPTYPE Opens point style dialogue box

ID ID Display the co-ordinate values of a point

LI or LS LIST Display information about objects in a text window

MASSPROP MASSPROP Calculate the region/mass properties of a solid

PR PROPERTIES Opens properties dialogue box

WHOHAS WHOHAS Displays who has a drawing open

Lists type/block name/layer name/color/linetype
XLIST XLIST
of a nested object in a block or an xref

LAYERS

TIP
Layer States - Create a layer state in Layer Manager (LA then Alt+S) to quickly switch between
different layer property settings.

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

AA AREA Calculate the area

DI DIST Calculate a distance and angle

DDPTYPE DDPTYPE Opens point style dialogue box

ID ID Display the co-ordinate values of a point

LI or LS LIST Display information about objects in a text window

MASSPROP MASSPROP Calculate the region/mass properties of a solid

PR PROPERTIES Opens properties dialogue box

WHOHAS WHOHAS Displays who has a drawing open

Lists type/block name/layer name/color/linetype

XLIST XLIST
of a nested object in a block or an xref

MODIFYING OBJECTS

TIP
1. When a grip point is selected cycle through command options using keyboard spacebar -
sequence STRETCH, MOVE, ROTATE, SCALE, MIRROR.
2. Switch between Group and Ungroup using CTRL+H, yes H!!

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

AL ALIGN Align an object with another

AR ARRAY Make multiple copies of an object

BR BREAK Break a line by defining 2 points

CO or CP COPY Copy object

COPYTOLAYE R COPYTOLAYER Copy object from one layer to another

CHA CHAMFER Chamfer between 2 non-parallel lines

E ERASE Erase selection

EX EXTEND Extend a line to meet another

F FILLET Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines

Opens object grouping dialogue - use to copy or
G GROUP
move
LEN LENGTHEN Lengthen or shorten a line

M MOVE Move an object

MI MIRROR Mirror an object

Copy move and rotate an object with one
MOCORO MOVE/COPY/ROTAT E
command
O OFFSET Offset an object by distance

RO ROTATE Rotate an object

S STRETCH Stretch an object

SC SCALE Scale an object

TR TRIM Trim objects

X EXPLODE Explode single entity to component parts

OBJECT SELECTION

TIP
1. Use SHIFT+LEFT MOUSE BUTTON to deselect an object.
2. When a grip point is selected cycle through command options using keyboard spacebar -
sequence STRETCH, MOVE, ROTATE, SCALE, MIRROR.
3. Object Cycling - hold down the Control key while picking, AutoCAD will cycle through all the
objects that fall under the pickbox as you continue to pick. When the correct object is highlighted,
simply hit Enter. You don't need to continue to hold down the Control key after the first pick.

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

Adds each successive object, switches from

A ADD
remove

ALL ALL All objects on thawed layers

CP CPOLYGON Objects touching or enclosed by selection polygon

Objects touched or enclosed by window - Move

C CROSSING
right to left

F FENCE Objects touch by single selection fence

Opens object grouping dialogue - use with

G GROUP
copy/move/etc

L LAST Most recently created visible object

P PREVIOUS Most recent selection set

R REMOVE Objects to remove from selection set

SNAPANG SNAPANGLE Change the snap angle from default 0°

W WINDOW Objects enclosed by window - Move left to right

WP WPOLYGON Objects within a window polygon

OBJECT SNAP - OSNAP

TIP
1. Use TAB to cycle through Osnap points.
2. SHIFT+RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON to reveal Osnap options

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

F3 OSNAP Switches osnap on/off

F9 or CTRL+B SNAP Turns snap on/off

F11 or CTRL+W OSNAP TRACK Turns object snap tracking on/off

APP APPARENT INT Apparent intersection of 2 objects

CEN CENof Snap to centre point

DS DDOSNAP Opens drafting settings/object snap dialogue

END ENDPOINT Snap to end of line etc

EXT EXTENSION Extends lines beyond endpoint

FRO FROM Snap to an offset distance from an object snap

INS INSERTION Snap to insertion point of text or block

INT INTERSECTION Snap to intersection of lines, circles, arcs

MID MIDPOINT Snap to midpoint of line etc

MTP Snap midpoint between two points

NEA NEAREST Snap near to an object

NOD NODE Snap to point node

NON NONE Turns off object snap modes

PAR PARALLEL Continues a line parallel to existing

PER PERPENDICULAR Snap to perpendicular of line etc

QUA QUADRANT Snap to quadrant of circle, arc, ellipse

TAN TANGENT Snap to tangent of circle, arc, ellipse

TK TRACK Locate points without drawing lines

TT TT Temporary tracking point

TEXT
TIPS
1. To fit or align text in a defined area use DTEXT and select JUSTIFY/ALIGN or FIT - very useful if
text is enclosed by a rectangle/ circle/etc.
NOTES
1. Text entered in paperspace is 1:1, e.g. 5mm high text will print 5mm high.

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

Single line dynamic text - Justify/Align to fit within

DT DTEXT
text line
ED DDEDIT Edit text

FIND FIND Opens find and replace dialogue box

JUSTIFYTEXT JUSTIFYTEXT Change the justification point without moving text

MIRRTEXT MIRRTEXT Mirrtext 0 to turn off

SCALETEXT SCALETEXT Scales text without moving the text insertion point

SPELL SPELLCHECK Performs spellcheck - ALL checks all text in drawing

ST STYLE Opens text style dialogue box

T or MT MTEXT Multiline/paragraph text

Places circle, slot, or rectangle around each selected
TCIRCLE TCIRCLE
text object

TEXT DTEXT Single line dynamic text

Stretches/shrinks text by selecting new start and/or
TEXTFIT TEXTFIT
end points

TORIENT TORIENT Rotates text, mtext, and attribute definition objects

TXT2MTXT TXT2MTXT Converts DTEXT to MTEXT

WIPEOUT WIPEOUT Masks part of drawing for clarity

VIEW PORTS
TIP
1. To prevent a viewport from editing right mouse click on the viewport and select DISPLAY
LOCKED/YES

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

CTRL+R Cycle through viewports
CTRL+PAGE UP Switch up between layout tabs
CTRL+PAGE DOWN Switch down between layout tabs
DV DVIEW Perspective view.
MS MSPACE Switch to modelspace in a viewport
MV MVIEW Make a viewport in paperspace
PS PSPACE Switch to paperspace from viewport
VPORTS VPORTS Opens viewports dialogue box
-VPORTS -VPORTS Create a viewport using command line