utoCAD Tutorial 1:
FOR RELEASE 14

PLEASE READ: ___________

 

This tutorial was designed to be part of the introductory courses taught by the Graphic Communications Program at NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY. All of the directions used in this, and the other tutorials in this series, assume that you are running AutoCAD Release 14 on an NT system. These directions will only work with Release 14. Other versions may not have the same commands or format.

his tutorial will familiarize you with some aspects of using AutoCAD and allow you to create a file that you can use as a border and titleblock for drawings you create in this program.

Spend time carefully reading the information in the tutorials, especially explanations of features in the AutoCAD program. A good grounding in the operations of this program will allow you to progress quicker and apply these concepts to new situations.

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this tutorial you will be able to:

1. locate, copy, and open a blank AutoCAD file that has been configured for your use;

2. draw lines using Absolute Coordinates and the OFFSET command;

3. add text to a drawing;

4. save a file for later use; and

5. print a drawing.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

This set of tutorials will explore some of the commands found in AutoCAD Release 14. Throughout the tutorial, you will find links (underlined words in BLUE) that will supply information on the commands in AutoCAD. This information will appear in the panel on the LEFT side of the browser screen. You can also access information on these commands by directly clicking on the links in the LEFT panel.

You will be shown how to perform a task once in the tutorial and then will be expected to use the information in the left panel to help you perform this task again. This system is designed to help you retain more of what you practice in the tutorials.

Read the information in the panel carefully and keep it visible as you work with a command. Spend some time trying to perform the task before you ask for help. You will learn more this way.

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STEP 1

Before you proceed any further, I suggest that you resize the browser window so that it fills up the entire computer screen. If the browser window is too small, the sides of the larger illustrations cannot be seen.

To resize the window, locate the icons in the UPPER RIGHT corner of the computer window, and click on the middle button. The middle icon will change to indicate that the program window is at its maximum size. If you click on the MIDDLE button again, the window will return to its original size and shape. The icon will also change again to indicate that the window is in the "growable" mode. In the growable mode, you can resize the program window by holding the left mouse button down on the EXTREME LOWER RIGHT corner of the browser window, between the scroll bars, and dragging it.

The next task you need to perform is to copy an AutoCAD file onto your harddrive or a floppy disk. To make this copy, click on the start_page file link below.
START_PAGE

After the link is selected, one of two things should happen:

the AutoCAD program will launch and open the file,

OR

a dialogue box will appear.
If the dialogue box appears, use the appropriate selections to save the file to your harddrive or a floppy disk. Once it is saved to either of these storage units, locate the file and launch AutoCAD by double-clicking on the file icon with the left mouse button.

NOTE: If you are having difficulty getting the file to open, launch AutoCAD first, and then open the file inside of AutoCAD through the Open... command under the File Menu.

The Start_page file is an empty (template) file that has been configured for your use. You will need the features that have been preset in this file to create drawings in several of the tutorials. Later, you will be shown how to configure a file from scratch.

STEP 2

When the Start_Page file opens, resize the AutoCAD window to fill the entire screen the same way you resized the browser window.

**NOTE: I would suggest that you keep the browser window and the AutoCAD window at full size while working on the tutorials. To switch between the programs, you can use the program buttons next to Windows' START button (usually located at the bottom of the computer screen). To use these buttons to switch between the programs, look for the AutoCAD and Web Browser icons (Netscape or Explorer). Click on the AutoCAD button and then the Browser button to see that the programs pop to the front when their buttons are selected. See the Figure below.

Now, you should use Save As... (under the File pull-down menu) to save the file under the name "titleblock" (without the quotation marks). This will preserve the original file for future use.

STEP 3

You will begin your familiarization with AutoCAD by examining the AutoCAD screen.

Look at FIGURE 1. This illustration labels the parts of the AutoCAD screen. Gradually you will be shown other elements of the program, but a basic familiarization will do for now.

FIGURE 1

AutoCAD has a large Drawing Area where you construct your drawings or models. It has a Menu Bar with pull-down menus, and Tool Bar areas at the Top and Left side of the screen. The Layer Status Window indicates the current drawing layer, and the Status Line indicates the current status of certain AutoCAD configurations. The Cursor tracks the mouse location on the drawing area and changes shape during certain operations. The Command Prompt Line displays command options and is also the area that receives your typed responses.

NOTE: The toolbars you have showing may not match the example in FIGURE 1. Toolbars can be added or removed through the Toolbars... option under the View Menu.

Tool buttons sometimes have "flyouts," which are additional tool buttons that appear when the Left mouse button is held down while the cursor is over a tool button icon with a flyout. You will recognize a flyout by the small triangle that appears in the lower right corner of a tool button.

To carry out actions in AutoCAD, you use AutoCAD COMMANDS. Commands can be activated in several ways: through Pull-down MENUS, through TOOL BARS, and through TYPED commands.

For most of you, the use of Menus and Toolbars are not new. Frequently, you can use both of these methods to activate the same command. You also may be able to type the command in the Prompt Line Window. Some commands can only be typed. Most typed commands also have short-cut "aliases" of one or more letters. Using the aliases speeds up your work and is less tiring than using the mouse to select the commands on the toolbars and menus.

EXAMPLE:
To activate the Zoom command, you can type just the letter "z" at a Command: prompt and press Enter. When the next Zoom prompt reads:
All/Center/Dynamic/Extents/Left/Previous/Vmax/Window/ <Scale> (X/XP):
you could type the letter "e" and then press Enter to choose the Extents option. The letters in the prompt options that are in Capital Letters are the aliases for those options.

The Prompt Line window is one of the most important locations on the AutoCAD screen. The prompt line is where command options will be displayed, where you will receive instructions, and where you respond to a Command: prompt. If you fail to respond to the prompts on this line, you will be unable to complete most tasks in AutoCAD. When the prompt Command: appears in this area, AutoCAD is ready to receive a new command. Failure to read the command prompts will lead to frustration!!

To begin your titleblock drawing, you will use the Line command. To activate this command, either locate the Line button on the Drawing toolbar and click on it with the Left Mouse button, or type a letter L ( the first letter in the word Line and the "alias" for the Line command) at the Command: prompt and press the Enter key.

NOTE: Typed commands and their aliases are NOT case-sensitive.

Look at the prompt line, which now asks LINE From point:. At this prompt, type 10,10 (with no spaces) and press the Enter Key or the Right mouse button. This is the beginning point for a line.

The point you just entered is 10 mm along the X-axis and 10 mm along the Y-axis. The Cartesian System (of X, Y, and Z axes) is one way that AutoCAD can locate points in a drawing. When AutoCAD asks for a position, use coordinates for that position by typing in the X and the Y value separated by a COMMA. See FIGURE 2, which illustrates that the concept is the same as plotting points on a XY graph.

FIGURE 2

Look again at the Prompt line, which now reads:
To point:. Type 272,10 and press Enter to stop the line. Press Enter again to exit the Line command.

You have located the second end of the line, and a single line should appear on the screen, although it may not be located exactly where the line appears in FIGURE 3.

NOTE: If you need to exit a command and return to a Command: prompt, press the Escape Key.

FIGURE 3

If you are having difficulty finding the line that you just drew, type z (the "alias" for Zoom) at a Command: prompt and press Enter.

The prompt line will read: All/Center/Dynamic/Extents/ Previous/Scale
(/Window/ Scale(X/XP)<Realtime>:.

This prompt lists the Options that you can select under the Zoom command separated by "/" (slash) marks.

Realtime (the option in the < >) is the default option. If you press the Enter key without selecting a different option, this is the option that AutoCAD will use. Other options can be selected by typing the capital letters in the option's name on the prompt line.

Let's examine some of the options under this command.

In Realtime Zoom the cursor turns into a small magnifying glass with a plus and minus sign beside it. To zoom in or out, click the LEFT mouse button in the drawing area and drag the mouse up or down. To Exit Realtime Zoom, press the Esc key or depress and hold down the right mouse button in the drawing area until a pop-up menu appears. Select Exit on the pop-up menu.

Take a few seconds to try the Realtime Zoom option so that you can become comfortable with it.

Another Zoom option you could use is Vmax, which is an option that does not appear in the list of options for the Zoom command, but can be used if typed after the option prompt and is good to know. To select this option, type z (for Zoom) at a Command: prompt and press Enter. When the Zoom option list appears, type a v on the prompt line and press Enter. The Vmax option will zoom to the smallest possible view of your drawing.

Try the Zoom Vmax option now.

To return to the full size view, type z (for Zoom) at a Command: prompt, press Enter, and then type a, for the All option. All displays the entire drawing limits on the screen.

A Window Zoom allows you to zoom to a specific area by using the mouse to select the diagonal corners of a rectangular selection "box" or window.

To Window Zoom, activate the Zoom command, move the cursor to a corner just outside of the area that you want to examine closer, and click the LEFT mouse button once and release it. This establishes the first corner of a selection rectangle that will be used to select the view. Now, without holding down the mouse button, slide the cursor to an opposite diagonal corner of the area you wish to examine. A rectangle that indicates the area you are selecting will appear as you drag the mouse. Click the LEFT mouse button again to indicate the end of the selection area. The area will enlarge to fill the AutoCAD drawing area.

Try this Zoom option, and then use Zoom All to return to a normal view of the drawing area.

HELP NOTES: ________ If you make a mistake, are in the wrong menu, or need to exit a command, press the Esc (Escape) key to return to a Command: prompt. If you need to remove a line or other element in AutoCAD, there are several ways you can accomplish this. One is to use the Undo command. To undo an action press the Enter Key or use the Esc key until the Command: prompt appears. Now, either type u and then press the Enter Key, or click on the Undo tool button . Typing u at a Command: prompt will undo the last thing you did after you press the Enter key. The Undo button, or typing undo at a Command: prompt, allows you to indicate the number of steps you wish AutoCAD to reverse. Another way to eliminate an element is through the Erase command. To erase a line or other element in AutoCAD, click on the Erase button , select Erase under the Modify pull-down menus, or type "e" (the "alias" for Erase) at a Command: prompt. AutoCAD will direct you to: Select objects:. With the cursor on top of the item you wish to erase, click the left mouse button (the item selected will change to a dotted line) and press the right mouse button or the Enter key. AutoCAD will display the prompt Select objects... a second time to allow you to add more items to your selection. Press Enter to end the selection process and press Enter again to remove the selected items and exit the command.   ***TIME SAVER TIP: The RIGHT mouse button can be used as the Enter key.***

Now, you will use the Line command to add a second line. This line should start at 10 on the X-axis and 17 on the Y-axis and end at 272 on the X-axis and 17 on the Y-axis. See FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 4

Press the Enter key again to exit the Line command, and return to a Command: prompt. Remember, when the prompt displays Command: AutoCAD is ready for a new command.

At the Command: prompt, type qsave and press the Enter Key, or select Save on the File pull-down menu. This will save the lines you have drawn in the titleblock file.

You should save after every 3 or 4 changes you make to your drawings.

Save often to avoid losing your work or you WILL regret it. This is the voice of experience!

STEP 5

To add the third line, you will use the Offset command.

Read the information on the Offset command.This command can be activated by selecting Offset under the Modify Menu, typing offset at a Command: prompt, or by clicking on the Offset button .

When the prompt reads Offset distance or Through <Through>, type 7 and Enter.

When the prompt reads Select object to offset, click the left mouse button on the second (TOP) line you added (it will change into a dashed line to indicate that it is selected).

When the prompt reads Side to offset?, click in the drawing area ABOVE this line. AutoCAD needs to know on which side of the original line to place the copy.

A new line, which is parallel and the same length, should appear above the original. See FIGURE 5. Press Enter again to return to a Command: prompt.

FIGURE 5

Remember, the RIGHT key on the mouse is the equivalent of pressing the Enter key and is frequently faster than using the Enter key.

Pressing Enter at a Command: prompt will activate the last command you used.

To exit a command and return to a Command: prompt, press the Esc key.

Use the Offset command again to add a line 184 mm above the last line you added.

You now have 4 lines. See FIGURE 6.

If you cannot see all of your lines, use the All or Extents (zooms to the extent of the drawing) option under the Zoom command.

FIGURE 6

STEP 6

Now, you will add two more lines using Absolute Coordinates. This is the same method you used to add the first two lines of the titleblock.

Carefully read the information on Absolute Coordinates before adding these lines.

Now, draw a line that begins at a point that is 10 along the X-axis and 10 along the Y-axis (10,10) and ends at a point that is 10 along the X-axis and 208 along the Y-axis (10,208). Press Enter until you return to a Command: prompt. See FIGURE 7.

Add a second line that begins at a point 272 along the X and 10 along the Y and ends at a point 272 along the X and 208 along the Y. Your titleblock should now look like FIGURE 7.

Press Enter until you exit the Line command.

At the Command: prompt, type qsave and Enter, or select Save under the File menu.

FIGURE 7

Remember, another way to select the Line command is to type line or a single lowercase L at a Command: prompt.

STEP 7

Your titleblock now needs short divider lines in the title bar area for the text blocks.

Restart the Line command.

Your first line should begin at 140,10 and end at 140,24.

Press Enter twice (to bring up the Line command again).

Your second line should begin at 85,10 and end at 85,17.

Return to a Command: prompt. Save.

Use Offset: to create a duplicate of the last line you drew and place it 122 mm to its right. See FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 8

STEP 8

It is time for you to add text to your titleblock. Before adding this text, you must change the Layer.

To change to a new layer, click on the arrow on the RIGHT end of the Layer Status Window, located at the top of the AutoCAD screen (see Figure below). Find the layer labeled Text, and click on the Layer Name (you may have to scroll to find this layer). The Text layer name should appear in the Layer Status Window when you are done.

Another way to change layers is through the Layer & Linetype Properties dialogue box. It can be selected by clicking on the Layer button . If you use the dialogue box to change the layer, use the Left mouse button to select the layer, the Current button, and OK to make the change. You must click on the Current button because there are multiple operations that you can perform in this dialogue box.

After you change the layer, look at Layer Status Window. Notice that the small square, next to the name, displays a color other than white. This color has been assigned to this layer, which means that anything drawn in this layer will be displayed on the screen in this color. The line colors also have a relationship to the thickness of the lines when printing, but we will get to that issue later.

Are you ready to add text? Here goes!

Either select Text, and then Single Line Text Draw, under the Draw Menu or type dtext at a Command: prompt.

When the prompt reads TEXT Justify/Style/<Start point>:, type 12,12 and Enter to locate the LEFT LOWER CORNER of the text.

A"rubber band" like line should appear at this position. If the position is in the wrong place (See FIGURE 9) then press the Esc key to exit the command and start again.

When the prompt reads Height <15>:, type 3 and press Enter.

When the prompt reads Rotation angle <0>:, press Enter to select the default value and maintain the text's horizontal orientation.

If the "rubber band" appears to be in the correct position, type (in all CAPS) the text COURSE: GC 120 (or your appropriate course designation) and then press Enter until you are back to the Command: prompt.

Press Enter again to reactivate the Dtext command. AutoCAD remembers the last command you used.

When the prompt asks for a start point, use 12,19.

Notice that the Height prompt already displays <3>, which is the height you entered for the last text. AutoCAD remembers the last parameters you entered for a command and will use them again if you press Enter.

Press Enter to accept the text height. Notice that the Rotation is still set to 0 degrees, so you can simply press the Enter key again.

When the " rubber band" line appears, type in DRAWN BY: YOUR NAME (type your own name) and Enter.

Now, you will add text in the same manner in several more places.

Activate the Dtext: command.

For position 88,12 type in SECTION: and your class section number.

For position 143,19 type in TITLE:.

For position 143,12 type in SCALE:.

For position 210,12 type in DATE:, but DO NOT add todays date. This is a template, and you will change the date for each tutorial.

Now, change back to the 0 Layer.

Return to a Command: prompt and Save.

See FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 9

STEP 9

You are finally ready to print your titleblock.

Printing is accomplished through the Plot command.

To activate this command, click on Print under the File pull-down menu

OR

type plot and Enter at the Command: prompt

OR

click on the Printer button.

The Print / Plot Configuration dialogue box should appear.

Inside this box make sure that these items are selected (see FIGURE 10):

-Under the heading Paper size and Orientation make sure that mm and the A size paper is selected.

-Click on the Rotation and Origin button. Type 0.000 by X and 0.000 by Y, if different.

-While in Rotation and Origin, change the orientation to 90 degrees.

-Look at the box marked Scale to Fit and, if a check appears in the box, click on it to deselect this option.

-Under Plotted MM=Drawing Units, type 1=1.

-Under Additional Parameters, click on Extents. This tells AutoCAD to print to the "extent" of the drawing.

-Click on the button marked Pen Assignments. When a dialogue box appears, click on the row labeled 7 (for white) and locate the Width window. Change the line width to .7. NOTE: Line thicknesses are set by color assignment when you print a drawing in AutoCAD. You have just assigned a .7 line thickness to the color White. Anything in white will print in this line thickness. Since the text is on a layer with a Red color assignment, it will print in a thinner line.

 

 

**DANGER! DANGER! WILL ROBINSON!** Before moving on, check these settings again. Changing some settings before others will change settings you have already made and your print will have errors.

 

-Click on the Full button, and then Preview to examine the way your file will look when it is printed.

To EXIT Print Preview - Click the RIGHT mouse button on the screen and a pop-up dialogue box will appear. Drag down to EXIT, and you will be returned to the Print/Plot Configuration dialogue box.

-If the drawing appeared to be correct in Print Preview, click on the OK button to send it to the printer.

Figure 10

You should always exit AutoCAD properly.

You completed your first Tutorial! In the next tutorial, you will construct a simple two-dimensional drawing and place your titleblock around it.

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AutoCAD is a registered trademark of AutoDesk, Inc.

AutoCAD Tutorial 1: For Release 14 was written by:
Dr. Alice Y. Scales, Ed.D.
Graphic Communications Program
Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
With contributions by Russell R. Downs

This work is copyrighted and the property of Alice Y. Scales and is not to be copied without permission of the author.

7/15/98

Revised 5/9/00

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