AutoCAD

Training Manual
Basic Software Training

In association with Haramaya Institute of Technology

By Samuel Wolde
Email: samuelwolde743@gmail.com

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 Contents
1. AutoCAD Basics
- Draw Objects
- Modify Objects
2. Introdiction to Architectural Drawings
- Floor Plan
- Section View
- Elevation View
3. Introduction to Structural Drawings
- Beam Detailing
- Slab Detailing
- Foundation Detailing
4. AutoCAD 3D Modelling
- 3D House modelling

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 Lecture 1- AutoCad Basics
1.1. Typing a Command
All AutoCAD commands can be typed in at the command line. Many commands also have
one or two letter aliases that can also be typed as shortcuts to the commands.

1. Type the desired command at the command prompt.

Command : LINE

or

2. Type the command’s alias. Command: L

3. Press ENTER/Space to end.

4. Type an option at the command prompt.

TIP: Many AutoCAD commands require you to press ENTER to complete the command.
You know you are no longer in an AutoCAD command when you see a blank command
line.

1.2. Reusing the Last Command

The last used AutoCAD command can be re-entered by one of the following three methods of ENTER. The
ENTER key on the keyboard will always act as ENTER, the SPACEBAR and RIGHT MOUSE will act as
enter most of the time (exceptions include placing TEXT).

Press the ENTER key on the keyboard

or

2. Press the Space bar on the keyboard.

or

3. Click the right mouse button

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 2. How to use a Mouse
AutoCAD uses either a mouse or digitizing tablet to select objects in a drawing.

2.1. Left Mouse Button

Used to pick or select objects

1. Click the left mouse button to select an object area in the drawing.

2. last command, or access shortcut menus.

Click the right mousPress ESC twice to deselect an object (or to cancel a command).

2.2. Right Mouse Button

1. Used to enter a command, repeat e button.

TIPS: • SHIFT + the right mouse button brings up the object snap menus.

• Various screen locations for the mouse brings up different menus.• menus

Pan and Zoom

Select objects
Shortcut menus

Specify locations

2.1. PAN
Shifts the location of a view.

1. Choose View, Pan.

or

2. Click the Pan icon.

or

3. Type PAN from the command prompt.

Command: PAN or P

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ZOOM
Increases or decreases the apparent size of objects in the current viewport

1. Choose View, Zoom.

or

2. Click a Zoom icon.

or

3. Scroll the wheel of the mouse up and down to zoom in and zoom out

or

4. Type ZOOM at the command prompt.

Command: Zoom or Z

5. Type One of the following zoom options:

The following are some of basic zoom options:

All Places entire drawing (all visible layers) on display at once. Forces a regeneration.

Extents Displays current drawing content as large as possible.

Window Designates rectangular area to be drawn as large as possible.

Center Specifies center point and new display height.

Dynamic Permits you to pan a box representing the viewing screen around the entire

generated portion of the drawing and enlarge or shrink it.

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 3.Creating a New Drawing
New Drawing
NEW Command Creates a new drawing file.

1. Choose File, New.

or

2. Press CTRL + N

or

3. Click the New icon.

or

4. Type NEW at the Command prompt.

Command: NEW

5. Choose One of the options for creating a new drawing.

 For imperial drawings (inch, feet, etc.) that assume your units are inches, use acad.dwt

 For metric units (meter, millimeter, etc.) that assume your units are millimeters, use acadiso.dwt

6. Click The OK button.

7. Save the drawing as another name.

Unit Management
Type UNITS or UN at the command prompt and press ENTER. Then select the unit you want

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Undo and Redo
Reverses the last action.

1. Click the Undo icon.

or

2. Press CTRL + Z.

3. Type U at the command prompt to undo the last command and press ENTER

Command: U

Redo
Reverses the effects of a single UNDO or U command.

1. Click the Redo icon.

or

2. Type REDO at the command prompt to redo the last undo command.

Command: REDO

Useful Commands
1. Draw Geometry
Create basic geometric objects such as lines, circles, and hatched areas.

You can create a lot of different types of geometric objects in AutoCAD, but you only need to know a few
of them for most 2D drawings.

Draw a Line
1. Choose Draw, Line.

or

2. Click the Line icon.

or

3. Type LINE from the command prompt

Command: LINE or L

4. Press ENTER , then specify first and next point by left clicking on workspace screen.

First point
next point

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Polyline Command
A polyline is a connected sequence of line or arc segments that is created as a single object.

Use the PLINE command to create open or closed polylines for

Orthogonal Line
When Ortho mode is on, it restricts the cursor movement to horizontal and vertical directions relative to the
user coordinate system (UCS). You can turn Ortho mode on and off by clicking on the Ortho icon at the
bottom of the window or press F8, or

by typing the Ortho command.

Rectangle
A fast way to create closed rectangular polylines is to use the RECTANG command (enter REC in the
Command window).
Other corner

First corner

Arcs
Specify the start point, a second point, and an endpoint of the arc.

Additional arc options are available from the drop-down:

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Trim
The TRIM command allows you to trim objects in a drawing so they end precisely at a cutting
edge defined by one or more other objects in the drawing.

1. Choose Modify, Trim.

or

2. Click the Trim icon.

3. Type TRIM at the command prompt Command: TRIM

Select cutting edge(s)...

4. Pick The CUTTING edge to extend to Select objects: (select)

5. Press ENTER to accept the cutting edge Select objects: (press enter)

6. Pick Objects to trim / Project / Edge / Undo: Select an object, enter an option, or press enter

7. Press ENTER when you are done choosing objects Select object to trim/Undo: (press enter)

First line

Second line

First line

Second line

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Circles
The default option of the CIRCLE command requires you to specify a center point and a radius.

Additional circle options are available from the drop-down:

2. Precision
It Ensure the precision required for your models.

There are several precision features available, including

Polar tracking(F10). —Snap to the closest preset angle and specify a distance along that angle.

Locking angles. Lock to a single, specified angle and specify a distance along that angle. For example,
if the second point of a line needs to be created at a 45 degree angle, you would enter <45 in the Command
window.

Object snaps(F3). Snap to precise locations on existing objects, such as an endpoint of a polyline,
the midpoint of a line, or the center point of a circle.

Tangent

Endpoint
Center
Midpoint
Intersection
Perpendicular
Quadrant

Grid snaps(F9). Snap to increments in a rectangular grid.

Recommendations
At any prompt for a point, you can specify a single object snap that overrides all other object snap settings.
You hold down Shift, right-click in the drawing area, and choose an object snap from the Object Snap
menu. Then move the cursor to select a location on an object.

Make sure that you zoom in close enough to avoid mistakes. In a densely populated model, snapping to the
wrong object will result in an error that can propagate throughout your model.

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Object Snap Tracking
During a command, you can align points both horizontally and vertically from object snap locations. In the
following illustration, you first hover over endpoint 1 and then hover over endpoint 2. When you move
your cursor near location 3, the cursor locks into the horizontal and vertical location shown.

3. Modify
Perform operations such as erase, move, and trim on the objects in a drawing.

Selecting Objects
Sometimes you need to select a large number of objects. Instead of selecting each object individually, you
can select the objects in an area by clicking an empty location (1), moving your cursor right or left, and
then clicking a second time (2).

Cross selection Window selecton

 With a crossing selection, any objects within or touching the green area are selected.
 With a window selection, only the objects completely contained within the blue area are
selected.

The result is called the selection set, which is the set of objects that will be processed by a
command.

Tip: You can easily remove objects from the selection set. For example, if you select 42
objects, and two of them should not have been selected, hold down Shift and then select
the two that you want to remove. Then, press Enter or the Spacebar, or right click to end
the selection process.

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Erase
To erase an object, use the ERASE command. You can enter E in the
Command window, or click the Erase tool. When you see the cursor
change to a square pickbox, click each object that you want to erase,
and then press Enter or the Spacebar.

Note: Alternatively, before you enter any command, you can select
several objects and then press the Delete key. Experienced users often
use this method as well.

Copy
Copies objects a specified distance in a specified direction.
1. Choose Modify, Copy.

or
2. Click the Copy icon.
Or
3. Type COPY at the command prompt. Command: COPY or CP
4. Pick Objects to copy. Select objects: (select)
5. Pick A point to move from. Base point or displacement/Multiple: (pick point).
6. Pick A point to copy to. Second point of displacement: (pick point)
or
7. Type A point to copy to.
Second point of displacement: @ 1< 0
@ 1< 0 indicates the second point will be located at 1 unit in x-direction from the basepoint and 0 unit in
y direction)

Explode (X)
It is useful when you want to modify the components of an object separately. Objects that can be exploded
include blocks, polylines, and regions, among other

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Lecture 2 - Introdution to Floor Plan

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