AutoCAD Commands

L - It can be used for making simple lines in the drawing.

C - It is the command used for making a circle in AutoCAD.

PL - This command can be used to make a Polyline in your

drawing.

REC - This command will make a rectangle in AutoCAD.

POL - This command can be used to make a polygon with

minimum of 3 sides and a maximum of 1024 sides.

ARC - As the name suggests, this command can be used to

make an arc in AutoCAD.

ELLIPSE - As the name suggests, this command can be used

to make an ellipse with the major and minor axis.

REG - This command can be used to make a region

geometry in AutoCAD.

CO - This command is used to copy object(s) in AutoCAD.

ARRAY - Using this command you can make Rectangular,

polar or Path array.

TR - This command is used for trimming a geometry.

OP - Using this command you can open options window

which contains most of the settings of AutoCAD.

SC - This command is used to change the scale of an object.

B - This command is used for creating a block, the

properties of the block can be defined using the block
definition window.

I - This command can be used to insert an existing block or

a drawing as a block in AutoCAD.

ST - Using this command you can open text style window

which controls properties of the default AutoCAD text style.

X - This command can be used to explode objects like

Polyline to simple lines, an array or a block to a simple
geometry etc.

F - This command can be used to add rounded corners to

the sharp edges of the geometry, these round corners are
also called fillets.

CHA - This command can be used to add slant edges to the

sharp corners, these slant edges are also called chamfers.

LA - This command can be used to open layer properties

manage palette which is a tool for creating and managing
layers in a drawing.

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Keyboard Shortcut Keys or deactivate status bar icons using keyboard shortcuts,
commands or by clicking on its respective icon.
Ctrl + N - You can use this shortcut to open a new drawing a
tab in AutoCAD.

Ctrl + S - You can use this keyboard shortcut to save a

drawing file.

Ctrl + Shift + S - You can use this keyboard shortcut to save

the drawing as a new file, in short, this is the hotkey for
“save as” command.

Ctrl + 0 - Clears screen to show only the drawing area and

hides palettes and tabs. Press it again to reset default
AutoCAD interface.

Ctrl + 1 - Select and object and press Ctrl + 1 to open the

properties palette which lists properties of the object. You
can use this palette to modify most of the properties of the
object too. You can also use PR command to open the
property palette.

Related: Increase productivity by modifying quick

properties in AutoCAD

Ctrl + 2 - You can use it to open design centre palette which

contains many AutoCAD blocks that can be used directly in
your drawing.

Ctrl + 9 - You can use this keyboard shortcut to toggle the

visibility of the command line. If for some reason your
command line is hidden from the drawing area, then use
this keyboard shortcut to bring it back.

Ctrl + C - Select objects from the drawing area and press

Ctrl + C to copy to objects to the clipboard.

Ctrl + V - To paste the copied objects of the clipboard in the

drawing keeping their original properties, you can use this
keyboard shortcut.

Ctrl + Shift + V - To paste the copied objects as a block you

can use this keyboard shortcut, the block thus created will
have a random set of characters as is name. You can use
this keyboard shortcut to make blocks quickly without
going through the create block window.

Ctrl + Z - This keyboard shortcut can be used to undo last

action in your drawing. You can press this shortcut key
multiple times to undo many actions.

Ctrl + Y - This keyboard shortcut can be used to redo the

last undo action which you have performed.

Ctrl + Tab - You can use this keyboard shortcut to cycle

through all open drawing tabs in AutoCAD.

Status Bar Toggle - The status bar is an important feature

of AutoCAD user interface and its tools are required quite
frequently while making or editing your drawing hence they
are available on status bar for easy access. You can activate

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Function Keys If you set the value of this system variable to 1, only the
overlap icon appears not the menu. You can turn this off by
F7 - This status bar tool will toggle the visibility of
changing the value of this system variable to 0.
background grid which is often visible in your drawing area.
F6 - Dynamic UCS can be activated or deactivated using this
F9 - Toggle Snap mode, when snap mode is active AutoCAD
function key. Using dynamic UCS you can make geometries
cursor will jump to specific points in the drawing area which
directly of the face or another 3D object irrespective of the
is defined in snap mode.
position of UCS. You can also toggle dynamic UCS using
DYNMODE - By default the value of this system variable is UCSDETECT system variable, the values of this system
set to -3 which keeps it off you change this system variable variable can be 1 for ON and 0 for OFF.
to 3 to make dynamic input active. Dynamic input allows
GRAPHICSCONFIG - Using this status bar option you can
you to add information dynamically on the cursor tooltip.
open Graphics configuration window which is used to
F8 - Toggles Ortho mode on/off. When ortho mode is on change settings related to display and graphics properties
you can make lines either horizontally or vertically only. of AutoCAD. You can also use 3DCONFIG for opening the
graphics performance window.
F10 - Toggles Polar tracking on/off. With polar tracking
active you can make lines inclined to any angle which is
defined in the polar tracking increment angle.

ISODRAFT - Using this toggle you can activate the isometric

drawing plane in AutoCAD. You can select from Isoplane
Left, Isoplane Top and Isoplane Right. You can also toggle
between different isoplanes using F5 function key. The
default value of ISODRAFT option is orthographic.

F11 - Toggles Object snap tracking on/off. Using this option

you can track snap points of geometries like centre,
midpoint, endpoint etc. and make geometries with their
reference.

F3 - One the most important status bar toggles. This

function key activates/deactivates object snap option,
when object snap is active you will be able to snap your
cursor to some exact points in the geometry like End,
centre, quadrant, tangent etc. This option allows you to
make precise AutoCAD drawings.

LWDISPLAY - This system variable toggles the visibility of

lineweight in a drawing. The default value of this system
variable is OFF which keeps the lineweight display off you
can change its value to ON to keep lineweight visible in the
drawing area.

TRANSPARENCYDISPLAY - Just like lineweight this status

variable allows you to toggle the visibility of transparency
of an object. You change the value of this system variable
to 1 to make transparency visible or 0 if you want to make
it invisible.

SELECTIONCYCLING - Using this system variable you can

select overlapping objects very easily. When the value of
this system variable is set to 2, an overlapping icon and a
menu containing a list of overlapping objects appear and
you can select the required object from this list.

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General Commands DIVIDE - You can use this command to divide any 2D
geometry into many equal parts. At each point of division, a
BCOUNT - This command is useful for counting the number
point geometry will be added on the 2D curve.
of blocks in your drawing. It reports the number of each
instance of block used in the drawing along with its name. RENAME - If you need to rename any named object like
To count the block it should be visible in the drawing area. layer, block or linetype simply use this command to rename
it.
TXTEXP - Using this command you can convert single line as
well as multiline text into geometries. BREAK - This command can be used to break 2D geometries
at one or two points. It is helpful if you want to break a
XLINE (XL) - Using this command you can make infinite lines
curve at the point of intersection with other curve or if you
starting from the point of selection. When you trim or
want to create a gap by breaking a part of the geometry.
break this infinite line to a finite length it becomes a simple
line geometry. TIME - Using this command you can find a lot of
information about your drawing like the date when the
POINT (PO) - This command makes a single point geometry
drawing was created and total editing time consumed on
in the drawing. To modify the type of point created by this
the drawing.
command you can use PTYPE command and choose the
desired point type from Point Style window. QSELECT - This command can be used to make the selection
from your drawing with filters. As an example, you can use
REVCLOUD - Using this command you can make a revision
quick select to make a selection set containing all circles of
cloud geometry by freehand sketching.
the drawing with the radius of a particular value.
SKETCH - You can make a freehand sketch using this
DI - It can be used to find the distance between two points
command. You can use Line, Polyline or Spline as the object
in the drawing.
type for making this freehand sketch.
COPYBASE - Using this command you can copy any object
MULTIPLE - If you want to repeat any command without
using a base point.
pressing enter key then use MULTIPLE command. To cancel
repetition of command press ESC key. PASTECLIP - You can paste the copied objects from
clipboard to your drawing using this command. If you use
NCOPY - Use this command to copy nested objects from a
COPYBASE to copy the objects then you will be able to
block or Xref without exploding them.
paste it in the same or another drawing with the selected
CAL - Using this subcommand you can perform calculations base point.
directly on the AutoCAD command line even when you are
LIST - Using this command you can find lots of properties of
in the middle of a command. You can start this
an object like the layer they are on, area, length or radius,
subcommand by entering ‘CAL (don’t forget to add an
perimeter or circumference and a lot more. To use this
apostrophe before CAL) while running any other command.
command simply type LIST on the command line then press
BURST - Explodes the block containing attributes retaining enter and select the object from drawing area about which
the attribute setting and its layer definition. This is you want to know and press enter again.
especially helpful if you want to retain the text of attribute
DIM - This command was introduced in AutoCAD 2016
after exploding the block.
version and it can be used to make most of the dimensions
SP - Using this command you can check the spelling of like Linear, aligned, radius, diameter and baseline. To
selected text and correct the spellings from Check Spelling access this command you can use DIM command or select
window. the DIM tool from dimensions panel of Annotate tab.

ARCTEXT - This command can be used to write arc aligned TOLERANCE - If you want to add a feature control frame
text in AutoCAD. You can use this command to even write representing tolerance related information in your drawing
text aligned to a circle. then you can use this command.

OOPS - This command can be used to restore the last SCALETEXT - Using this command you can change the scale
deleted object in your drawing. After deleting an object if of existing Text or Mtext object in the drawing. To use this
you made many other changes in the drawing and realized command type SCALETEXT on the command line press
that you might need to restore the deleted object then enter and select the text from drawing area and press Enter
simply type OOPS and press enter. again. Now select “Existing” option from the command line
and then select “scale factor” option and then type the
CHSPACE - This command can be used to change the space scale in which you want to convert the text height and
of an object from model space to paper space and vice press enter. When the scale of these text entities are
versa. See the animated image shown below for reference. changed the base point will remain fixed.
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BASE - Using this command you can change the base point the positive side of the X-axis. In the example shown below
of a drawing without changing its origin. This is especially the dimensions are made with DIMROTATED command.
helpful in the situation where you want to insert the
BREAKLINE - You can use this tool to make a Breakline
drawing into another as an Xref. By default, AutoCAD takes
symbol on a line. Type BREAKLINE on the command line and
origin as the base point which can be modified using this
press enter then click on scale option of the command line
command without changing the origin.
and apply an appropriate scale to the breakline.
DWGPREFIX - If you have a drawing open in AutoCAD and
Select the starting and end points of the breakline then
you don’t know the location where it is saved you can
click at any point on the line to specify the location of
simply type DWGPREFIX command to look it. This command
breakline or directly press enter to place it exactly at the
can be used to quickly find the location of Xref’s attached in
centre of the line.
the drawing.
TXT2MTXT - Using this command you can convert a text
TJUST - Using this command you can change the text
object into an Mtext object and you can also combine
justification of Text and Mtext elements in the drawing.
multiple separate Mtext objects into a single Mtext unit.
UNITS - Using this command you can set the drawing units
SAVEALL - As the name suggests this command can be used
and other settings like the precision of linear and angular
to save all of the open drawings in AutoCAD window.
dimensions and default rotation angle.

ML - Using this command you can make a multiline

geometry which contains multiple parallel lines.

TINSERT - You can insert a block or a drawing as a block in

the table using this command. You can also fit the block in
the table cell and also justify its location automatically with
TINSERT dialogue box. I have made a simple table by
importing blocks of design centre as shown in the image
below.

MIRRTEXT - By default, AutoCAD does not mirror text in the

drawing but if you want to mirror the text of your drawing
then change the value of MIRRTEXT system variable to 1.

AREA - As the name suggests this command can be used to

find the area of closed or open shapes in the AutoCAD
drawing.

TORIENT - Using this command you can reorient text

entities in a best readable position. In image A below the
text is oriented at different angles and in some of the
situations, the text is not properly readable. Whereas in
image B below TORIENT command has been used to make
the text readable for all angles.

ID - This command can be used to find the coordinate

values of a point in AutoCAD drawing.

MINSERT - Using this command you can insert existing

blocks of a drawing as a rectangular array component. An
array added using MINSERT command can’t be exploded.

BOUNDARY - Using this command you can extract closed

boundaries from any enclosed area. This boundary can be
used to find the area of the enclosed region or for many
other applications. In the image below the boundary of the
area mentioned as A has been extracted as a polyline using
BOUNDARY command.

DIMROTATED - This command can be used to make a

dimension line inclined to a particular angle with respect to
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Performance Related Commands HIGHLIGHT - This system variable is also similar to
SELECTIONPREVIEW but in this case, the object will appear
Performance and optimization related commands which
highlighted when selected. Its default value is 1 but you can
you can use in your daily workflow.
turn off this highlight effect by changing its value to 0.
PURGE - This command can be used to remove unused
RECOVERALL - This command repairs a corrupted or
named objects like layers, blocks and dimension styles from
damaged drawing along with all of its attached Xref’s.
the drawing.
LAYMCH - Using this command you can change the layers
LAYDEL - Using this command you can delete some of the
of selected objects. To use this command type LAYMCH on
most stubborn layers from your drawing which can’t be
the command line and press enter key then select objects
removed using PURGE command. This command can also
whose layer assignment you want to change and press
remove Defpoints layer and also layer containing objects
enter then select any object of the layer which you want to
but I would not recommend that.
apply on selected objects and press enter key again.
FILLMODE - Using this system variable you can turn off or
PICKBOX - Using this system variable you can change the
on the visibility of filled area in hatches or wide polylines by
size of Pickbox which appears at the cursor of AutoCAD.
changing its value to 0 or 1 respectively. By turning the
The default value of this system variable is 3 and you can
FILLMODE to off you can enhance the performance of
change its value from 0 to 50.
AutoCAD by limiting resources consumed on regenerating
the filled geometries. In the image below the size of Pickbox is 3 for first cursor
and 10 for the second cursor.
You need to regenerate the drawing using REA command
after changing this system variable to see its effect on the STARTMODE - This system variable will toggle the visibility
drawing. of start tab at the beginning of the AutoCAD application. By
default the value of this system variable is 1 which allows
APERTURE - This system variable controls the area of
start screen to appear, you can change this value to 0 if you
influence of object snap. The aperture size as defined by
don’t want to see the start screen.
this system variable is the area of the square under which
the point will be selected if the cursor is brought into it. The CLOSEALL - If you have multiple tabs open in your AutoCAD
default value of this aperture is 10 but depending on the window and you don’t want to manually close them one by
complexity of the drawing you can change this value one then you can simply use CLOSEALL command to close
between 1-50. all the open windows. AutoCAD will prompt you with the
save dialogue box before closing all unsaved drawings and
The size of the aperture is relative to the current scale of
it will take you to start screen after closing all of the
the screen and it is not an absolute value. In the image
drawings.
below the red box (not visible in AutoCAD) is the aperture
size for two values 10 and 50 respectively. FILEDIA - This system variable suppresses the dialog box
that opens up when invoking certain commands like Save,
OVERKILL - Use this command to remove overlapping or
Save As and Export. The default value of this system
unnecessary geometries from the drawing.
variable is 1 which allows the dialog box to open. When
ISAVEPERCENT - You can change the value of this system you, however, change the value of this system variable to 0
variable to reduce the time it takes to save a drawing. This the command will run on the command line and the dialog
system variable also affects file size of AutoCAD drawings box will not open.
and its compatibility with other software.
AUDIT - This command should be used for removing errors
By decreasing the value of this system variable you can from your drawing. It is always a good practice to keep
increase its compatibility with other software and it also checking your drawing file with AUDIT tool for errors.
decreases the size of the CAD file but the time consumed in
RECOVER - This command is similar to the AUDIT command
save operation generally increases. When you increase the
but it is useful for the drawings which are corrupted to such
value of this system variable opposite happens.
an extent that you can’t even open it.
The default value of this system variable is 50 and it can be
MA - This command is a great time saver if you want to
changed from 0 to 100.
copy properties of one object on other without changing its
SELECTIONPREVIEW - When hovering the cursor over any geometry or contents.
object a preview will appear if the value of this system
CLOSEALLOTHER - Using this command you can close all
variable is set to 3. You can remove this preview thereby
open drawing windows except the current drawing
improve the performance by changing the value of this
window.
system variable to 0.
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TEXTFIT - Using this command you can shrink or expand the TABLET - If for some reasons you are looking to use Tablet
text entities in a drawing to fit in the required area. In the as pointing and navigation device in AutoCAD then you can
example below I have fitted the AutoCAD text within the use this command to turn the Tablet input on and off. The
rectangle using TEXTFIT command. Tablet can be turned on and off using TABMODE system
variable also.

WIPEOUT - Using wipeout command you can clean

background in a crowded drawing to make overlaying
objects clear against the background. In the image shown
below Wipeout command has been used to clean the area
around the second hook. You can use WIPEOUTFRAME
system variable and change its value to 0 to remove
wipeout frame boundary also.

To convert a Polyline into a WIPEOUT, select the 2D closed

polyline, type WIPEOUT and in command bar select
POLYLINE or type P.

-DWGUNITS - Using this command you can convert your

AutoCAD drawing from one unit to another and you can
also scale the existing drawing to new scales automatically.

TEXTMASK - Using this command you can automatically

create a masking behind the text to make it clearly visible
against the crowded background. In the image below
Textmask has not been applied for the first case and in the
second case, it has been applied.

LAYMRG - If you want to merge layers of multiple objects

then this command is for you. Type LAYMRG press enter
key then select the objects whose layers you want to
change then press enter again. Select any object of target
layer on which you want to transfer the selected objects
and press enter again.

All the objects of the selected layer will be transferred to

the end layer and also the selected layer will be removed.

DS - Using this command you can open the drafting settings

window which can be used to change settings related to
status bar options like object snap, polar tracking, snap and
grid settings.

LAYWALK - Using this command you can check all the

objects which are on a particular layer. When you use
LAYWALK command a list with all layers appears on the
screen and you can click on any of the layer(s) from the list
and objects from that layer(s) will only become visible in
the drawing area. The original status of layer and object
visibility is restored once you close LAYWALK window.

CENTERMARK - This tool was added in the AutoCAD 2017

version and it allows you to create centre mark easily on a
circle or arc.

CENTERLINE - As the name suggests you can add a

centreline easily between parallel or intersecting lines using
this tool. See the related article for more on Centermark
and Centreline tools.

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Accessibility Commands groupings of the similar type of objects like a group of
similar blocks. To break this group you can use UNGROUP
These commands will help you in making your overall
command.
drawing workflow faster and efficient by eliminating the
need for using many repetitive tasks.

TEXTSCR - This command will open a text window which ADCENTER - This command can be used to bring Design
has a history of recently used commands. Centre palette in the drawing area. You can also use CTRL+2
key to open the design centre palette.
BATTMAN - This tool can be used to modify the attribute
information of blocks containing attributes. IMPORT - Using this command you can import drawings of
many different formats in AutoCAD, the list of all supported
3DCONFIG - You can use this command to turn on/off
formats is shown in the image below.
hardware acceleration or change the graphics related
properties of AutoCAD like smooth line display and high- FIELD - Fields are dynamic text information which can add a
quality graphics display. lot of intelligence to your drawing by keeping data
interlinked and updated. Fields are extensively used in the
SEEK - This command will redirect you to BIMobject.com
sheet set and layout drawings and they can be used to
page (formerly Autodesk seek) which is a CAD and BIM
automate a lot of information in AutoCAD drawings.
object catalogue. It is one of the great places to get blocks
for your projects. You can start the Field window using FIELD command of
AutoCAD.
FS - Using this command you can select objects which are
connected to the selected object in the drawing area. The WBLOCK - If you want to export a certain part of your
behaviour of this command is controlled by FSMODE drawing or any of its blocks to an external file then you can
system variable, if the value of FSMODE is OFF then FS use write block tool or its command equivalent WBLOCK.
command will select only the selected object and one
object that is directly connected to the selected object.

If the value of FSMODE is ON then FS command will select

the selected object as well as all the objects connected to it
and its next connected object in the series. This selection
series continues as long as the command finds connected
objects.

TEXTTOFRONT - Using this command you can bring TEXT,

Dimensions and Leader lines on the front of all underlying
objects like hatches. This command is especially helpful if
you want to bring multiple annotations to the front of all
drawings objects without changing their draw order
selectively.

PUBLISH - Using this command you can print multi-sheet

files directly, unlike PLOT command which only plots single
sheet this command will allow you to plot multiple sheets
or even all of the sheets of the drawing directly.

ISOLATE - Using this command you can hide all objects from
the drawing area except the selected objects. By hiding
unnecessary objects from drawing you can get a clean work
area. To bring back all the hidden object back to the
drawing select UNISOLATE or UNHIDE command.

HIDEOBJECTS - This command is similar to ISOLATE

command but in this case, you can hide selected objects
keeping remaining objects visible. In this case, also you can
bring back hidden objects by using UNHIDE or UNISOLATE
command.

GROUP - Using this command you can group multiple

objects as a single unit. This command is great for making
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