AUTOCAD 2D AND 3D KEYS

AUTOCAD 2D AND 3D KEYS

Keyboard input for Auto-CAD software:

How to use Keyboard Special Keys in Auto-CAD software:

Keys	Action
ESC	Use the ESC key to cancel all current actions and return to the Command: prompt.
ENTER	Press the ENTER key following all keyboard input. You also complete many commands by pressing ENTER.
SPACEBAR	Pressing the SPACEBAR is equivalent to pressing the ENTER key and is often easier to use. Pressing the SPACEBAR or ENTER at the Command: prompt repeats the last command used.
UP & DOWN arrows	Pressing the UP and DOWN arrow keys will cycle through previous commands used.
TAB	The TAB key is especially useful to navigate in a dialog box. Use the TAB key to move from field to field. Be careful not to press ENTER.

How to Use the Wheel Mouse in Auto-CAD software:

To Do	You have to do
Zoom In	Roll the wheel forward.
Zoom Out	Roll the wheel backward.
Zoom Extents	Double-click the wheel button.
Pan	Hold down the wheel button and drag the mouse.
Constrained Orbit	Press and hold the SHIFT key and the wheel button and drag the mouse.
Pan (Joystick)	Press and hold the CTRL key and the wheel button and drag the mouse.

How to Use the Control Keys in Auto-CAD software:

CTRL+0	Turns user interface elements on/off
CTRL+1	Turns properties on/off
CTRL+2	Turns design centre on/off
CTRL+3	Turns tool palettes window on/off
CTRL+8	Launches calculator window
CTRL+A	Select all
CTRL+C	Copies objects to clipboard
CTRL+H	Turns a group on or off
CTRL+J	Repeats last command
CTRL+N	Opens create new drawing dialogue box
CTRL+O	Opens the select file dialogue box
CTRL+P	Opens the plot dialogue box
CTRL+R	Switches between viewports
CTRL+S	Opens the save drawing as dialogue box
CTRL+SHIFT+S	Save as
CTRL+V	Pastes data from clipboard to drawing
CTRL+X	Removes select object from drawing to clipboard
CTRL+Y	Performs the operation cancelled by UNDO
CTRL+Z	Undoes the last operation
CTRL+TAB	Switches between open drawings
CTRL+PAGE UP	Switch up between layout tabs
CTRL+PAGE DOWN	Switch down between layout tabs
Arrow UP/DOWN	Recall last command

How to Entry Coordinates in Auto-CAD software: 

Location measured by distance from 0,0 in current UCS	#X,Y
Location measured by distance from last point	@X,Y
Location measured by distance and angle from 0,0 in current UCS	#distance<angle
Location measured by distance and angle from last point	@distance<angle
Location by extracting and combining coordinate values from 2 or 3 points	.x or.y or .xy etc
An angle override from current point	<angle

 Shortcut Keys for some common commands in Auto-CAD Drawing:

To Perform	Command	Shortcut
Draw an arc with 3 points	ARC	A
Calculate the area	AREA	AA
Align an object with another	ALIGN	AL
Opens application load dialogue box	APPLOAD	AP
Make multiple copies of an object	ARRAY	AR
Opens Ariel view of drawing	DSVIEWER	AV
Opens attribute definition dialogue box	ATTDEF	ATT
Audit drawing for errors	AUDIT	AUDIT
Edit attribute values for a specific block	ATTEDIT	ATTEDIT
Opens block dialogue box in order to make a block	BLOCK	B
Closes the block editor	BCLOSE	BC
Opens the edit block definition dialogue box	BEDIT	BE
Opens block attribute manager	BATTMAN	BATTMAN
Displays attribute order dialogue box	BATTORDER	BATTORDER
Counts the blocks in a drawing	BCOUNT	BCOUNT
Draw a boundary	BOUNDARY	BO
Break a line by defining 2 points	BREAK	BR
Draw a circle	CIRCLE	C
Copy object	COPY	CO or CP
Chamfer between 2 non-parallel lines	CHAMFER	CHA
Opens select colour dialogue box	COLOR	COL
Copy object from one layer to another	COPYTOLAYER	COPYTOLAYER
Opens dimension style manager	DIMSTYLE	D
Opens design centre	ADCENTER	DC
Calculate a distance and angle	DIST	DI
Draw a solid donut shape	DONUT	DO
Single line text	TEXT	DT
Inserts point node a set division	DIVIDE	DIV
Opens point style dialogue box	DDPTYPE	DDPTYPE
Erase selection	ERASE	E
Draw an ellipse	ELLIPSE	EL
Extend a line to meet another	EXTEND	EX
Enhanced attribute extraction wizard to count blocks	EATTEXT	EATTEXT
Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines	FILLET	F
Converts 3D to 2D	FLATTEN	FLATTEN
Opens object grouping dialogue	GROUP	G
Global attribute edit of multiple blocks	GATTE	GATTE
Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box	HATCH	H
Opens insert dialogue to insert a block	INSERT	I
Insert a block by name	INSERT	-I
Display the co-ordinate values of a point	ID	ID
Launches image manager	IMAGE	IM
Joins 2 objects to form single object	JOIN	J
Creates a JPEG file of current drawing	JPGOUT	JPGOUT
Draw a line	LINE	L
Opens layer manager	LAYER	LA
Draw a leader line	QLEADER	LE
Display information about objects in a text window	LIST	LI or LS
Creates a new layout tab	LAYOUT	LO
Change the line type scale	LTS scale	LTS
Lengthen or shorten a line	LENGTHEN	LEN
Leader line with annotation	LEADER	LEAD
Change objects to current layer	LAYERCURRENT	LAYCUR
Delete a layer by selecting object	LAYERDELETE	LAYDEL
Freeze a layer by selecting object	LAYERFREEZE	LAYFRZ
Isolates a layer by selecting object	LAYERISOLATE	LAYISO
Lock a layer by selecting object	LAYERLOCK	LAYLCK
Match properties of a layer	LAYERMATCH	LAYMCH
Moves objects from first layer to second and deletes first	LAYERMERGE	LAYMRG
Switches a layer off	LAYEROFF	LAYOFF
Switches all layers on except frozen layers	LAYERON	LAYON
Restores previous layer state	LAYERPREVIOUS	LAYERP
Thaws all layers	LAYTHW	LAYTHW
Walk through layers	LAYERWALK	LAYWALK
Access Layer manager to save and restore layer states	LMAN	LMAN
Move an object	MOVE	M
Match properties of an object	MATCHPROPERTIES	MA
Inserts point node at input distance	MEASURE	ME
Mirror an object	MIRROR	MI
Draw multi lines	MLINE	ML
Insert block in rectangular array	MINSERT	MINSERT
Calculate the region/mass properties of a solid	MASSPROP	MASSPROP
Offset an object by distance	OFFSET	O
Launches options dialogue box	OPTIONS	OP
Pan in drawing	PAN	P
Edit a poly line	POLYEDIT	PE
Draw a poly line - a complex line	PLINE	PL
Point marker or node	POINT	PO
Draw a regular polygon 3 to 1024 sides	POLYGON	POL
Opens properties dialogue box	PROPERTIES	PR
Opens purge dialogue box to remove unused elements	PURGE	PU
Preview a plot	PREVIEW	PRE
Opens plot/print dialogue box	PLOT	PLOT
Rotate an object	ROTATE	RO
Construction line in one direction	RAY	RAY
Draw a rectangle	RECTANG	REC
Region - for example, shading	REGION	REG
Edit a block reference in place	REFEDIT	REFEDIT
Opens rename dialogue box to rename blocks, layers, etc	RENAME	REN
Revision cloud - note can select a poly line	REVCLOUD	REVCLOUD
Stretch an object	STRETCH	S
Scale an object	SCALE	SC
Spell check a selection - ALL to check entire drawing	SPELL	SP
Spline or smooth curve along points	SPLINE	SPL
Multi-line text	MTEXT	T
Opens insert a table dialogue box	TABLE	TB
Trim objects	TRIM	TR
Displays tool palette	TOOLPALETTES	TP
Undo last command	UNDO	U
Opens units dialogue box	UNITS	UN
Opens view dialogue box	VIEW	V
Write a block - for use in other drawings	WBLOCK	W
Masks part of drawing for clarity	WIPEOUT	WIPEOUT
Displays who has a drawing open	WHOHAS	WHOHAS
Explode single entity to component parts	EXPLODE	X
Opens x-reference manager	XREF	XR
Construction line of infinite length	XLINE	XL
Lists type/block name/layer name/colour/line type of a nested object in a block or an xref	XLIST	XLIST
Zoom in display - A=All, E=EXTENTS, W=WINDOW	ZOOM	Z

 Shortcut Keys - Object Selection - use with editing commands:

To Perform	Command	Shortcut
Adds each successive object, switches from remove	ADD	A
All objects on thawed layers	ALL	ALL
Objects touched or enclosed by window - Move right to left	CROSSING	C
Objects touching or enclosed by selection polygon	CPOLYGON	CP
Objects touch by single selection fence	FENCE	F
Opens object grouping dialogue - use with copy/move/etc	GROUP	G
Most recently created visible object	LAST	L
Most recent selection set	PREVIOUS	P
Objects to remove from selection set	REMOVE	R
Change the snap angle from default 0°	SNAPANGLE	SNAPANG
Objects enclosed by window - Move left to right	WINDOW	W
Objects within a window polygon	WPOLYGON	WP
To deselect an object	SHIFT+LEFT MOUSE BUTTON

 Shortcut Keys for Dimensioning in Auto-CAD:

To Perform	Command	Shortcut
Displays the calculator	QUICKCALC	CTRL+8
Opens dimension style manager dialogue box	DIMSTYLE	D
Aligned linear dimension line	DIMALIGNED	DAL
Angular dimension line	DIMANGULAR	DAN
Arc length dimension	DIMARC	DAR
Ordinate dimension from baseline of previous dimension	DIMBASELINE	DBA
Ordinate dimension from 2nd extension line of previous dimension	DIMCONTINUE	DCO
Diameter dimension for circles and arcs	DIMDIAMETER	DDI
Edit dimension text on dimension objects	DIMEDIT	DED
Check a distance	DIST	DI
Creates centre mark	DIMCENTER	DIMCENTER
Linear dimension	DIMLINEAR	DLI
Ordinate point dimension	DIMORDINATE	DOR
Override dimension style	DIMOVERRIDE	DOV
Radial dimension for circles and arcs	DIMRADIUS	DRA
Display the co-ordinate values of a point	ID	ID
Opens drawing units dialogue box	UNITS	UN

  Shortcut Keys for TEXT in Auto-CAD Drawing:

To Perform	Command	Shortcut
Single line dynamic text - Justify/Align to fit within text line	DTEXT	DT
Edit text	DDEDIT	ED
Opens find and replace dialogue box	FIND	FIND
Change the justification point without moving text	JUSTIFYTEXT	JUSTIFYTEXT
Mirrtext 0 to turn off	T MIRRTEXT	MIRRTEX
Scales text without moving the text insertion point	SCALETEXT	SCALETEXT
Performs spell check - ALL checks all text in drawing	SPELLCHECK	SPELL
Opens text style dialogue box	STYLE	ST
Multiline/paragraph text	MTEXT	T or MT
Places circle, slot, or rectangle around each selected text object	TCIRCLE	TCIRCLE
Single line dynamic text	DTEXT	TEXT
Stretches/shrinks text by selecting new start and/or end points	TEXTFIT	TEXTFIT
Rotates text, mtext, and attribute definition objects	TORIENT	TORIENT
Converts DTEXT to MTEXT	TXT2MTXT	TXT2MTXT
Masks part of drawing for clarity	WIPEOUT	WIPEOUT
Diameter dimensioning symbol	Ø	%%C
Degrees symbol	°	%%D
Toggles over score mode on/off	OVERSCORE	%%O
Plus/minus symbol	±	%%P
Toggles underscore on/off	UNDERSCORE	%%U
To fit or align text in a defined area use DTEXT and select JUSTIFY/ALIGN or FIT – very useful if text is enclosed by a rectangle/ circle/etc.

Shortcut Keys for Object SNAP – OSNAP:

To Perform	Command	Shortcut
Switches OSNAP on/off	OSNAP	F3
Turns snap on/off	SNAP	F9 or CTRL+B
Turns object snap tracking on/off	OSNAP TRACK	F11 or CTRL+W
Apparent intersection of 2 objects	APPARENT INT	APP
Snap to centre point	CEN of	CEN
Opens drafting settings/object snap dialogue	DDOSNAP	DS
Snap to end of line etc	ENDPOINT	END
Extends lines beyond endpoint	EXTENSION	EXT
Snap to an offset distance from an object snap	FROM	FRO
Snap to insertion point of text or block	INSERTION	INS
Snap to intersection of lines, circles, arcs	INTERSECTION	INT
Snap to midpoint of line etc	MIDPOINT	MID
Snap near to an object	NEAREST	NEA
Snap to point node	NODE	NOD
Turns off object snap modes	NONE	NON
Continues a line parallel to existing	PARALLEL	PAR
Snap to perpendicular of lineetc	PERPENDICULAR	PER
Snap to quadrant of circle, arc, ellipse	QUADRANT	QUA
Snap to tangent of circle, arc, ellipse	TANGENT	TAN
Locate points without drawing lines	TRACK	TK
Temporary tracking point	TT	TT
Cycle through OSNAP points.	TAB
To reveal OSNAP options	SHIFT+RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON

 Some of Shortcut Keys in 3D Drawing in Auto-CAD:

To Perform	Command	Shortcut
Command line 3D solid options	3D	3D
Draw a cube	BOX	BOX
Draw a cylinder	CYLINDER	CYLINDER
Opens UCS dialogue	DDUCS	DDUCS
Opens UCS dialogue at orthographic tab	DDUCSP	DDUCSP
Extrude a face	EXTRUDE	EXT
Intersect an object	INTERSECT	IN
Revolves an object about an axis	REVOLVE	REV
Open render dialogue box	RENDER	RR
Section	SECTION	SE
Slice a solid	SLICE	SL
Subtract selection from solid	SUBTRACT	SU
Draw torus shape	TORUS	TOR
Displays UCS manager dialogue box	DDUCS	UC
UCS Command line options	UCS	UCS
Union solids	UNION	UNI
Opens viewport dialogue box	VPORTS	VPORTS
Draw a wedge	WEDGE	WE

Shortcut Keys to control Universal co-ordinate system (UCS) in Auto-CAD: 

To Perform	Command	Shortcut
Align UCS with an object, first select UCS	OBJECT	OB
Display UCS manager dialogue box	DDUCS	UC
Universal co-ordinate system options	UCS	UCS
Change the UCS icon appearance	UCSICON	UCSICON
Return to the WCS	WORLD	W

 Shortcut Keys for View-ports:

To Perform	Shortcut
Opens viewports dialogue box	VPORTS
Perspective view.	DV
Switch to model space in a viewport	MS
Create a viewport using command line	-VPORTS
Make a viewport in paper space	MV
Switch to paper space from viewport	PS
Cycle through viewports	CTRL+R
Switch up between layout tabs	CTRL+PAGE UP
Switch down between layout tabs	CTRL+PAGE DOWN
To prevent a viewport from editing right mouse click on the viewport and select DISPLAY LOCKED/YES

  Shortcut Keys for External Reference – XREF:

To Perform	Command	Shortcut
Edit an external reference in place	REFEDIT	REFEDIT
Opens select reference file dialogue for attaching Xref	XATTACH	XA
Opens Xbind dialogue - allows import only of symbols etc	XBIND	XB
Create a border in an xref to hide outside area	XCLIP	XC
Opens a selected xref in a new window	XOPEN	XOPEN
Opens Xref manager dialogue box	XREF	XR