AutoCAD 2012 For Dummies Cheat Sheet - For Dummies

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From AutoCAD 2012 For Dummies by David Byrnes

AutoCAD has grown more complex over the years, in part to keep up with the increasing complexity of the design and drafting processes that AutoCAD 2012 is intended to serve. Its not enough just to draw nice-looking lines anymore. If you want to play CAD with the big boys and girls, you need to carefully organize the objects you draw, their properties, and the files in which they reside. This guide provides the basic information and tools for doing all these things, without putting a T-square through your computer screen in frustration.

Drawing setup in AutoCAD 2012 can seem a little complicated before you get used to it. The following table lists ten fundamental AutoCAD setup commands in the order you probably use them, explains what they do, and tells you where to find them on the classic pull-down menu system as well as on the Ribbon and Application Menu. If youd rather type than click, you can enter the full command name or its alias or keyboard shortcut (where available shown in parentheses). Ribbon / Application Menu Model Space 1. Application menuNewDrawing FileNew NEW (Ctrl+N) Creates a new drawing based on a template drawing (DWT file) Specifies linear and angular units Specifies working area Classic Menu Command Description

2. Application menuDrawing UtilitiesUnits 3. None

FormatUnits

UNITS (UN)

FormatDrawing Limits

LIMITS

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4. View tab Navigate panelZoom drop-down flyoutExtents 5. None

ViewZoomExtents

ZOOM (Z), Extents DSETTINGS (DS)

Zooms to drawing extents Specifies snap and grid spacings Sets linetype scale

ToolsDrafting Settings

6. Home tabProperties panel Linetype drop-down OtherShow DetailsGlobal Scale Factor 7. Home tabAnnotation slideout Dimension Style 8. Application menuDrawing UtilitiesDrawing Properties Paper Space 9. None

Format LinetypeShow DetailsGlobal Scale Factor FormatDimension Style FileDrawing Properties

LTSCALE (LTS)

DIMSTYLE (D)

Sets dimension style Enters drawing informational properties

DWGPROPS

ToolsWizardsCreate Layout FileSave

LAYOUTWIZARD

Creates a paper space layout Saves the drawing

10.Application MenuSave

QSAVE (Ctrl+S)

Over AutoCADs 25-year existence, the one input method thats remained constant is typing into the command line. Most experienced AutoCAD users find typing command aliases and entering Ctrl+key combinations to be the most efficient way of communicating with AutoCAD and if you can find your way around a keyboard, youll probably find the same thing. The following table lists useful keyboard shortcuts. Keyboard Shortcut Ctrl+S Ctrl+O Command QSAVE OPEN Purpose Saves the drawing Displays the Select File dialog box

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Ctrl+P Ctrl+Tab Ctrl+PgUp/Ctrl+PgDn F1 F2 F3 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12

PLOT None None HELP TEXTSCR OSNAP GRID ORTHO SNAP POLAR None DYNMODE

Displays the Plot dialog box Switches to the next open drawing Switches to the previous/next tab in the current drawing Displays AutoCADs Help in a Web browser window Toggles the AutoCAD Text Window on and off Toggles running object snap mode on and off Toggles grid mode on and off Toggles ortho mode on and off Toggles snap mode on and off Toggles polar mode on and off Toggles object snap tracking on and off Toggles dynamic input mode on and off

It's not a bad idea to set limits for your AutoCAD 2012 drawing. Limits in AutoCAD represent the rectangular working area that you'll draw in, which usually corresponds to the paper size. Setting limits correctly lets you display the drawing grid over your working area, use ZOOM All to display that working area, and plot your working area from model space. The following table sets out the dimensions in whole feet or feet and inches of work areas for different paper sizes at different drawing scales. Drawing Scale 1/16" = 1'0" 1/8" = 1'0" 8-1/2" x 11" 136' x 176' 68' x 88' 11" x 17" 176' x 272' 88' x 136' 24" x 36" 384' x 576' 192' x 288' 30" x 42" 480' x 672' 240' x 336' 36" x 48" 576' x 768' 288' x 384'

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1/4" = 1'0" 1/2" = 1'0" 3/4" = 1'0" 1" = 1'0" 1-1/2" = 1'0" 3" = 1'0"

34' x 44' 17' x 22' 11'4" x 14'8" 8'6" x 11' 5'8" x 7'4" 2'10" x 3'8"

44' x 68' 22' x 34' 14'8" x 22'8" 11' x 17' 7'4" x 11'4" 3'8" x 5'8"

96' x 144' 48' x 72' 32' x 48' 24' x 36' 16' x 24' 8' x 12'

120' x 168' 60' x 84' 40' x 56' 30' x 42' 20' x 28' 10' x 14'

144' x 192' 72' x 96' 48' x 64' 36' x 48' 24' x 32' 12' x 16'

Its not a bad idea to set limits for your AutoCAD drawing. The limits represent the rectangular working area that youll draw in, which usually corresponds to the paper size. Setting AutoCAD's limits correctly lets you display the drawing grid over your working area, use ZOOM All to display that working area, and plot your working area from model space. The following table sets out the dimensions in millimeters of work areas for different paper sizes at different drawing scales. Drawing Scale 1:200 210 x 297 mm 42,000 x 59,400 mm 21,000 x 29,700 mm 10,500 x 14,850 mm 4,200 x 5,940 mm 2,100 x 2,970 297 x 420 mm 59,400 x 84,000 mm 29,700 x 42,000 mm 14,850 x 21,000 mm 5,940 x 8,400 mm 2,970 x 4,200 420 x 594 mm 84,000 x 118,800 mm 42,000 x 59,400 mm 21,000 x 29,700 mm 8,400 x 11,880 mm 4,200 x 5,940 mm 594 x 841 mm 118,800 x 168,200 mm 59,400 x 84,100 mm 29,700 x 42,050 mm 11,880 x 16,820 mm 5,940 x 8,410 mm 841 x 1,189 mm 168,200 x 237,800 mm 84,100 x 118,900 mm 42,050 x 59,450 mm 16,820 x 23,780 mm 8,410 x 11,890 mm

1:100

1:50

1:20

1:10

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mm 1:5 1,050 x 1,485 mm

mm 1,485 x 2,100 mm 2,100 x 2,970 mm 2,970 x 4,205 mm 4,205 x 5,945 mm

Copyright 2012 & Trademark by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

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