User Interface

1. Application Menu
2. Crosshair and Prompt
3. Drawing Area
4. Quick Access Toolbar QAT
5. Ribbon
6. InfoCenter
7. Tooltips
8. Command Line
9. Status Bar
10. Navigation Bar

Navigating in a Drawing

AutoCAD drawings are drawn in full scale, it need to move in and out frequently within an area

Wheel Mouse Zoom and Pan

Zoom-in: Roll the wheel UP

Zoom-out: Roll the wheel DOWN

Pan: Hold down the wheel

Move the view

Zoom Extents: Double-click on the wheel

Fit the entire drawing on the screen

Cartesian Workspace

AutoCAD using Cartesian (x , y) coordinates to locating a point

Cartesian Coordinate System

AutoCAD uses cartsian coordinates (X, Y) to locating a point in the drawing

X: Horizontal distance from origin (0,0)
Y: Vertical distance from origin (0,0)

Polar Coordinate System

AutoCAD uses polar coordinates (distance, angle) to measure angle

One distance, one angle from origin (0,0)

Absolute Coordinates

Can be cartesian or polar coordinates
Coordinates start from the origin (0,0)

Relative Coordinates

Can be cartesian or polar coordinates
Coordinates start from any point other than origin

Polar Angle

By default, AutoCAD measure angle in counter-clockwise

Dynamic Input

Status Bar - Drafting Settings - Dynamic Input

Dynamic Input let you view the command prompt and input in the drawing
It also automatically detect the relative coordinates without menually input the @

Save the Drawing

To prevent losing any data of your work, it's important to save frequently

Quick Save

Quick Access Toolbar > Save

This will saved without prompting for the name or location

Quick Access Toolbar > Save As

This will saved with prompting for the name and location

Automatic Save

The default Auto Save for AutoCAD is 10 mins
Auto Save file extension is *.SV$

AutoCAD also create a backup copy every time you save
Backup file extension is *.BAK

Save in Different Version

Quick Access Toolbar > Save As