TME 211 COURSE MATERIAL

Introduction to
AutoCAD

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TME 211 COURSE MATERIAL

Introduction:

AutoCAD is a registered trademark of Autodesk. CAD simply means (Computer

Aided Design), and so in recent years, technology has enabled us to make
drawings simpler and faster with the aid of a computer.

How to Start AutoCAD

1. Choose Start from the Windows program manager.

2. Choose Programs, Autodesk, AutoCAD 2008.
3. Click the AutoCAD 2008 for Windows icon.

4. Choose for example the AutoCAD 2004 icon from the desktop. You can other
versions like 2005 up to the latest.

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PARTS OF THE DRAWING SCREEN

DRAWING COMMANDS

Drawing commands can be provided by typing on the command line or using

the drawing tools.

How to Enter a Command

1. By simply type the first word of the desired object, e.g L for Line
2. Or by clicking on the Draw tool bar

LINE
 Simply Type L on the command line
 Press ENTER or Space bar to end.
 Type an option at the command prompt.

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TME 211 COURSE MATERIAL

TIP: Many AutoCAD commands require you to press ENTER to complete the
command. You know you are no longer in an AutoCAD command when you see
a blank command line.

POLYLINE
This very interesting command would help you to draw a continuous
combination of lines, arcs etc. They will be very useful when we make 3D
drawings.
 Type Pline on the command line
 Or click on the Poly line icon on the tool bar

How to Reissue the Last Command

The last used AutoCAD command can be re-entered by one of the following
three methods
 Press the ENTER key on the keyboard or
 Press the Space bar on the keyboard or
 Click the right mouse button.

Pointing Device (Mouse)

AutoCAD uses either a mouse or digitizing tablet to select objects in a drawing.

Left Mouse Button

Used to pick or select objects
 Click the left mouse button to select an object area in the drawing.
 Press ESC twice to deselect an object (or to cancel a command).

Right Mouse Button

Used to enter a command, repeat last command, or access shortcut menus.
 Click the right mouse button.

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TME 211 COURSE MATERIAL

TOOLS TO MOVE AND ZOOM DRAWINGS

PAN

Shifts the location of a view or object.

 Choose View, Pan or

 Click the Pan icon or
 On the command line type PAN or P.

You can also click the right mouse button to see the menu below

ZOOM
Increases or decreases the size of objects in the current viewport

 Choose View, Zoom or

 Click a Zoom icon or
 Type ZOOM or Z at the command prompt.
 Type One of the following zoom options:

The following are basic zoom options:

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TME 211 COURSE MATERIAL

All Places entire drawing (all visible layers) on display at once. Forces a
regeneration.
Extents Displays current drawing content as large as possible.
Previous Restores previous view.
Window Designates rectangular area to be drawn as large as possible.
Number Magnification relative to ZOOM All display
Number X Magnification relative to current display (1X)
Center Specifies center point and new display height.
Dynamic Permits you to pan a box representing the viewing screen around the
entire generated portion of the drawing and enlarge or shrink it.

TIP: When your drawing seems to be lost on the screen, simply type ZOOM on
the command line or simply type Z on the command line, then select zoom
extents

HOW TO REDO OR UNDO A DRAWING

Undo

Reverses the last action

 Choose Edit, Undo or

 Click the Undo icon or
 Press CTRL + Z
 Type U at the command prompt to undo the last command.

Redo

Reverses the effects of a single UNDO

 Choose Edit, Redo or

 Click the Redo icon or
 Type REDO at the command prompt to redo the last undo command.

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CREATING A NEW DRAWING

Now you are prepared to make your first drawing;

1. Choose File, New or

2. Press CTRL + N or

3. Click the New icon or

4. Type NEW at the Command prompt

After choosing any of the options for creating a new drawing.

5. Click The OK button.

6. Save the drawing as another name.

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TME 211 COURSE MATERIAL

To Open Existing Drawings

1. Choose File, OPEN or

2. Press CTRL + O or

3. Click the OPEN icon or

4. Type OPEN at the command prompt.

5. Press ENTER

6. Double Click the desired directory to find the drawing to open.

7. Click the drawing name to open.

8. Click The OK button.

IMPORTANT: Make sure to SAVE your drawings always

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TME 211 COURSE MATERIAL

Drawing Units Setup

Every object we construct in a CAD system is measured in units. We should determine
the system of units within the CAD system before creating the first geometric entities.
[Format] [Units

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TME 211 COURSE MATERIAL

 Set the precision also to zero

Setting Up the Drawing Area

In the Menu Bar select: Format Drawing Limits

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TME 211 COURSE MATERIAL

 To specify lower left corner type 0,0 and press enter

 To specify upper left corner type 210,420 (A4 paper size) type enter
 Go to [ View Zoom All ]
 Move your cursor to the upper right corner of the screen and you notice
that the units are what you have selected.

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My First Exercise

OTHER SETTINGS

 Click tools options to show the dialog box below.

 You can set the saving of drawings to lower versions of AutoCAD e.g
2000 for easy access on other systems.
 You can click on DISPLAY then COLOUR to change the colour of the
model space

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HOW TO RECOVER A LOST DRAWING FILE

WARNING: Ensure you click the create back up copy in the OPTIONS (from
TOOLS - Options) dialog box above before you begin your drawing. This ensures
that an extra copy of your drawing is saved with the .bak extension.

Method 1 – Renaming a Backup file

 Assuming you have a file named say 3DHouse.bak. This file cannot be
opened directly. Your computer will give you an error message “windows
can’t open file”.

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 Click on the File name, and change the .bak to .dwg, for example
3DHouse.bak will be changed to 3DHouse.dwg.
 Double click on the 3DHouse.dwg and your drawing will open.

Method 2 – Accessing the temporary file location

- Under files options, locate the directory where temporary files are
saved.
- Now exit your AutoCAD software and got to that temporary file
location on your PC. You will find your last saved drawing files. It may
not be updated, but it would sure save you the stress of starting from
scratch.

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TME 211 COURSE MATERIAL

SOME FUNCTION KEYS FOR SHORT CUTS

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