Chapter1:UnderstandingtheAutoCAD2007Interface

AfterstartingAutoCAD2007youfaceapage,whichisyourdesignworkspace.Itcontainstheelementsthatyouwillusetocreateyourdesigns&receiveinformationaboutthem.ThefollowingillustrationshowsthemainpartsoftheAutoCAD2007window.

Fig1.1:TypicallayoutoftheAutoCAD2007screen.

1. TitleBar

PlacedatthetopofthewindowthisshowsthenameoftheprogramAutoCAD2004.Thenameofthecurrentdrawing(orDrawing1.dwg,ifthecurrentdrawinghasnotbeensaved)appearsintheTitleBarofthedrawingareaordocumentwindow.Ifthedrawingwindowhasbeenmaximized,thenameofthedrawingappearsinthemainTitleBar.

2.MenuBar

LocatedbelowtheTitleBar,itcontainsthedefaultAutoCADmenus.Menusaredefinedbymenufilesthatyoucanmodifyordesignonyourown.

3.Toolbars

AnumberoftoolbarsappearonthescreenbelowtheInlineBar.CommandscanbeactivatedbyclickingthebuttonsonthevariousToolbars.AppearanceofvariousToolbarsisoptionalandtheirpositioncanbeshifted.ThemostcommonToolbarsthatappearbydefaultincludethefollowing:

a.StandardToolbars

Containsfrequentlyusedbuttons,suchasRedo,Undo,ZoomaswellasMicrosoftOfficestandardButtonssuchasOpen,Save,Cut,Copy,andPasteetc.

b.ObjectPropertiesToolbars

Itcontainstwotoolbars.OneisLayerstoolbarandanotherisPropertiestoolbar.Itcreatesnewlayersandmanageslayers.Setsobjectpropertiessuchascolor,linetypeandlineweight.

c.DrawandModifyToolbars

Provideaccesstocommondrawandmodifycommands.ThedrawandModifytoolbarsaredisplayedwhenyoustartAutoCAD.Thesetoolbarsaredockedontheleftandrightsideofthewindow.Youcaneasilymovetoolbarsandturnthemonandoff.

4.DrawingArea

Displaysdrawings.Thedrawingareasizevaries,dependingonthesizeoftheAutoCADwindowandonthenumberotherelements(suchastoolbarsanddialogboxes)thataredisplayed.Thiscontainsthefollowingmainfeatures:

a.CrosshairsorCursor

Identifiespickanddrawingpointswithinthedrawingarea.Usethecrosshairs/coursor,whicharecontrolledbyyourpointingdevice,tolocatepointsandselectanddrawobjects.

b.UserCoordinateSystem(UCS)icon

Showstheorientationofthedrawing.AutoCADdrawingsaresuperimposedonaninvisiblegrid,orcoordinatesystem.CoordinatesystemsarebasedonX,YandZ(or3D)

coordinates.AutoCADhasaFixedworldcoordinatesystem(WCS)andamovableusercoordinatesystem(UCS).TohelpyouvisualizeUCSlocationandorientation,aUCSiconisdisplayedinthelowerleftcornerofthedrawingarea.

c.ModelTabandLayoutTabs

Switchyourdrawingbetweenmodel(drawing)spaceandpaper(layout)space.Yougenerallycreateyourdrawingsinmodelspaceandthencreatelayoutstoplotandprintyourdrawinginpaperspaces.

5.CommandWindow

Displayspromptsandmessages.InAutoCAD,youstartcommandsinoneofthreeways:

Chooseanitemformatmenuorashortcutmenu, Clickabuttononatoolbar, Enterthecommandonthecommandline.

However,evenifyouchoosecommandsfrommenusandtoolbars,AutoCADmaydisplaycommandpromptsandthecommandhistory(pressF2buttononkeyboard)inacommandwindow.

6.StatusBar

Displaysthecursorcoordinatesinthelowerleftcorner.Thestatusbaralsocontainsbuttonsthatyoucanusetoturnoncommondrawingaids.Theseinclude:

SNAP(snapmodeF9)

ORTHO(orthomodeF8)

OSNAP(objectsnapsF3)

LWT(lineweightdisplay)

GRID(drawinggridF7)

POLAR(polartrackingF10)

OTRACK(objectsnapstrackingF11)

MODEL(model/paperspacetoggle)

COMMONLYUSEDTOOLBARS:

THEDRAWINGTOOLBARTHEMODIFYINGTOOLBAR

COMMONLYUSEDTOOLBARS:

THE3DTOOLBAR THEDIMENSIONTOOLBAR