AutoCAD Tutorials Introduction 1

Before using AutoCAD^®, you must understand a few basic concepts. Here we will lay out the basic AutoCAD setup, mouse controls, some tools, and some terms. The tutorials on this website assume a basic computer knowledge. If you do not have basic computer skills, Google for basic computer tutorials.

Arguably the first thing that anyone should learn when studying AutoCAD^® is that the mouse is your friend. The mouse will be used extensively to navigate a drawing, click icons, select, and use menus. If you have a mouse that sticks a lot, it may be difficult to use the AutoCAD software. The following diagram shows the uses of a mouse in AutoCAD^®

Here are a few screenshots of AutoCAD^® and its toolbars.

AutoCAD Startup | AutoCAD Overview | Standard Toolbar | Draw Toolbar | Modify Toolbar

There are three ways to start a command with AutoCAD^®. You may click an icon on a toolbar, you may choose an option from a menu, or you may type the command into the Command line. In the above screenshots, you may see the basic commands from the standard toolbars. Browse around the menus to see what other commands are available. Command line commands will be explained in much further detail in the AutoCAD Tutorials as this method can be more complicated to use than toolbars and menus.

Probably the most vital command in AutoCAD^® is the select command. In order to perform actions or make modifications to any created object or picture, you must use the select command. The easiest way to do this is to use the mouse and create a selection box. To create a selection box, move the mouse into the drawing area of the AutoCAD screen and click. Move the mouse to another part of the drawing area. You will notice that as you move the mouse, a rectangular box is displayed to show you what will be enclosed in the selection. When you click a second time, a selection of objects within the box will be made. Sometimes when making a selection you will want to select everything that your selection box comes into contact with, even just a little, and other times, you will want to select only what the selection box covers entirely. To select only what is entirely enclosed in the selection box, make your first point the top left point or the bottom left point. To select everything that the box touches, make your first point the top right point or the bottom right point. Experiment with these two methods to see how they work.

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