Hello, welcome to this short tutorial! Let's see in a short time the most
important and basic features you need to know to start using the newest
Autodesk AutoCAD 2020!
Do not forget to check out our YouTube channel and our official website
for extra content, free video tutorials and much more!
Autodesk AutoCAD is a professional Computer-Aided Design product, used
in both academic and business environments and available in several
versions on the market. The general version covers most of the features
you need to create 2D and 3D drawings like floor plans, constructions,
buildings and structural designs. The other versions are more focused on
different kinds of projects, such as AutoCAD Architectural, Engineering,
Civil, Mechanical and so on.
In this video we are going to see how to create basic 2D drawings with
the general version of AutoCAD. You can check our YouTube channel for
more highlights on 3D drawings and more advanced tutorials on AutoCAD.
When opening AutoCAD its Start page opens, divided in two sections at
the bottom: Learn and Create. Learn collects several tips and suggestions,
including how-to videos and online resources from Autodesk; Create all
the options to start with AutoCAD, to restart from any recent document,
browse for your existing projects with Open Files... on the left or
start from a fresh new one by going to Start Drawing. Let's just start
from a new blank project.
The new document or drawing opens on the main workspace, under a new tab
on top, next to the Start page and called Drawing1 by default. The
workspace is made by the Ribbon on top, with the full list of tools and
features to draw, modify and export; the visualization tools on the right
and the Command Line at the bottom, used to insert functions and tool
options.
The rest of the workspace is the whole project preview where you can draw and
edit. This follows the cartesian system (or gizmo) as reference in the
bottom left corner, fixing the horizontal direction as X axis (in red
color) and the vertical direction as Y axis (in green color).
The same workspace can be customized by either using the Minimize button
to size the Ribbon properly or the View tab to show or hide panels and
modules as you need.
Now let's see how to make 2D drawings inside AutoCAD! You can drop lines,
circles, ellipses and polygons with the tools inside the Draw section,
under the Home tab. You can hover over each tool to get tips on how to
use it, whose process can change depending on the kind of object and also
on the kind of tool you choose from the list. In this video we are going
to see just the default tools.
Use Line or Polyline to draw segments inside the project. Fix the first
node as starting point and a second one to place the first segment. Then
you can drop consecutive segments sharing the last node, until you use
the Escape key to stop drawing.
Use Circle to drop circles by fixing its centre first and then a second
point for its radius.
Enable Arc to draw an arc by fixing two points to define the basic
segment and then a third one to fix the arc curvature.
Use Rectangle to drop a simple rectangle by fixing two points. Whereas
enable Polygon to create a regular polygon by typing its number of sides,
applying with the Enter key and fixing center and last point. Then use the
Ellipse tool to drop an ellipse from three defined points.
Once the object is dropped on the workspace the current tool gets
disabled automatically. You can enable it again by using the Enter key
and go on drawing.
While drawing any object, AutoCAD shows its preview with useful
measurements on length and angles. Angles are measured in degrees in
respect to the X axis, whereas length and radius are unitless. The
measurement unit for these can be set by typing UNITS inside the Command
Line and using the Enter key. Then, inside Drawing Units specify
the format, the precision and the unit to use as reference under
Insertion Scale.
With the object in progress you can also define and set precise values
on it by using your keyboard instead of your cursor. In this case you can
use the Tab key to go for the next or the previous property while checking
the preview in progress and then apply the result with the Enter key or
undo all with the Escape key.
To help you realize drawings fast and precisely, AutoCAD has several
drawing aids available, all collected in the bottom right corner of the
workspace.
You can use GRIDMODE to show or hide the grid; SNAPMODE to enable or
disable snappings to the grid itself; ORTHOMODE to move your cursor just
along the X or Y axis and Object Snap to snap to fundamental object
keypoints in green color, such as squares for endpoints and verticals;
triangles for midpoints; circles for centers and crosses for
intersections. AutoCAD also creates green dashed guidelines starting from
the hovered object keypoints in order to draw along parallel,
perpendicular directions or make intersections. You can manage the list of
keypoints and directions to take into account from the list next to
Object Snap.
You can use the visualization tools on the right to check the status and
the results of your drawings. Use your mouse wheel to zoom in and out
around your cursor and the Pan tool to click and drag around your
workspace. Use the Escape key to finish with the tool.
You can also use the 3D View Cube to check your project from any point of
view. As for this 2D drawing you can use the arrows in the top right
corner to rotate by 90 degrees or drag the basic circumference to rotate
in 2D as you like.
You can also make and manage your drawings by using your keyboard.
Let's draw a Polyline for example. As you enable the Polyline tool, you
can drop the object by using either your cursor to fix the nodes or your
keyboard to insert values directly. In addition, you can use your Up and
Down Arrow keys to browse inside the list of options within the grey
dialog box, in order to change the way to draw the object or specify
its properties depending on the current drawing step. For example you can
choose Arc to start drawing curved sides and Line to return to straight
sides. Remember to use the Enter key to apply.
You can also use the Command Line at the bottom to enable tools and manage
drawings. For example, you can type Polyline and apply with the Enter key
to enable the Polyline tool. You can also choose between the several tool
options seen in the grey dialog box before by typing the character
highlighted in blue color that corresponds to the interested option,
applying with the Enter key.
Now let's see how to edit objects inside AutoCAD!
When no tools are enabled, your cursor is in selection mode, showing
a small square on its centre and ready to interact with any object. You
can hover over it to view information and click on it to select it. This
will be highlighted in blue color with several editing nodes on it you
can use to change and edit its shape.
When selecting Lines, Arcs, Circles and Ellipses, big squared nodes show
up. You can use the central one to move and place the object and all the
others to shape it.
You can also hover over these nodes to get measurements on angles, length
and radius. In case of Lines and Arcs you can also enable additional
editing options from the list next to your cursor. You can choose Stretch
to move the current endpoint; Lengthen to size the segment or arc length
and Radius to size the arc radius.
In case of Polylines, Rectangles and Polygons you have big nodes for the
verticals and smaller ones for the sides. If you hover over the big nodes,
you get measurements on the object and you can either Add or Remove the
selected Vertex. Choose Stretch Vertex to move it and shape the sides
connected to it. Consider that you do not have any central node to move
Polylines directly. You will have to use the Move tool we are going to
see shortly.
Whereas you can hover over the smaller node to manage and edit the polyline
sides. Choose Stretch to move the entire side; Convert to Arc to turn the
straight side into a curved one and Convert to Line to return to a
straight side.
You can cut, copy and paste a selected object by using CTRL+X, C and V
respectively. To remove an object, just select it and use the Delete key.
You can use CTRL+Z to undo any action if you make a mistake.
The gizmo system is indeed an object that can be managed by using its
nodes. You can move this reference with the square node and rotate its
X and Y axes with its blue circles. Consider that the whole project grid
will get updated to this change.
You can find other advanced tools to edit your 2D objects inside the
Modify section, under the Home tab. To use these, you can either select
the interested objects first and then enable the tool to start editing
or enable the tool first and then select all the objects. Indeed the
multiple selection allows to edit all the objects in the same way and in
one move.
You can click on each object to go on with your selection precisely or use
the Lasso selections to make this faster. If you click and hold while
dragging your cursor towards the right direction you create a Window
Lasso, selecting all the objects fully contained within the blue area.
Whereas if you drag towards the left direction you will make a green
Crossing Lasso, which also includes the objects that simply cross the
borders. You can use the Escape key to deselect all.
Once the objects are selected, you can use the Move tool to move; Rotate
to rotate the objects, defining rotation centre and angle; and Scale to
scale the object by saving its aspect ratio.
Now, let's see how to save and export your drawings from AutoCAD!
To save your whole project, including its options and object properties,
go to the AutoCAD icon in the top left corner and go to Save As. Type the
project name and set where to save it. AutoCAD drawings saving everything
have a .dwg as file format.
Whereas to export your drawing, open the Output tab and choose Plot to
set the options to print your work or Export to share it as a .dwfx, a
.dwf or a .pdf read-only document.
Thanks for watching this video! Check out our YouTube channel for a
general 2D and 3D overview on what you can do with AutoCAD!