AutoCAD 2D I Module 5 Getting Started PREPARED BY IAT Curriculum Unit February 2011 Institute of Applied Technology, 2011
Module 5 Auto CAD Self-paced Learning Modules AutoCAD 2D Getting Started Learning Outcomes: After the completion of this module, the student will be able to: Describe an AutoCAD command, and options. Describe the drawing name, drawing extensions and drawing templates. Describe and apply the command NEW, Describe and apply the command QSAVE, Describe and apply the command OPEN and CLOSE. Start a new drawing. Name the drawings, and save it to a specific folder location. Open existing drawings, and close drawings. AutoCAD Commands Most work in AutoCAD consist of giving instructions, telling AutoCAD what you want it to do. Those instructions are called commands. Most of the time you will be entering commands using the command line window, a pull-down menu or a toolbar menu. Figure 2-1 shows the LINE command Being entered using all three methods. Executing Commands Figure 2-1 Different Methods of Executing the LINE Command Many menu items execute commands automatically but a lot of the time it is up to you to do this. Executing a command is your way of telling AutoCAD that you are finished and it is AutoCAD s turn. You can execute a command by either pressing the enter key or the space bar on the keyboard. 2 Module 5: Getting started
Repeating the Last Command Auto CAD can be very repetitive. To speed up your work you can repeat the last command that was executed by pressing the enter key, the space bar, or the right mouse button. AutoCAD User Must Know No. 2-1 The enter key or the space bar on the keyboard are used to execute the active command. If there is no active command and you press the space bar, enter key, or the right mouse button, AutoCAD will repeat the last command. AutoCAD Drawings An AutoCAD drawing is a database file containing graphical and non-graphical data. The file must have the extension.dwg. To be able to do anything in AutoCAD, you must have at least one drawing open. You can open multiple drawings at the same time and switch between them a will. Only one drawing can be active at a time. The active drawing is the drawing current being affected by the command you are entering. The NEW command is used to create a new drawing. All new drawings must be started from a template file. All lab exercises in this course will use supplied template files. AutoCAD Command: NEW The New command is used to create and open a new drawing. Command Line Syntax: Command: NEW or Command: CTRL+N 3 Module 5: Getting started
Drawing Templates A drawing template is a drawing file with default and standards set by the creator. Sometimes a titleblock and border is also drawn. A template drawing is simply an AutoCAD drawing saved as a template file. AutoCAD assigns it the file extension name.dwt. For the ten templates you will be using for the AutoCAD Modules, the titleblock and border have been drawn and the AutoCAD standards and defaults were set for this course. The AutoCAD Customization Modules will teach you how to make your own template drawings. NEW command opens the Select Template dialogue box as shown in Figure 2-3 Figure 2-3 Select Template Dialogue Box Drawing Template for the AutoCAD Modules There are 10 drawing templates that are an important part of the AutoCAD Modules. You must use the template as instructed in the lab exercise as they contain the keys you will use to check your drawing. You will learn how to do this in Module 3. The template drawings you will be using and their actual size are as follows: English Template Metric Template Module Template A 8 ½ X 11 in Module Template A4 210X297mm Module Template B 11 X 17 in Module Template A3 297X410mm Module Template C 17 X 22 in Module Template A2 410X594mm Module Template D 22 X 34 in Module Template A1 594X820mm Module Template Layout English N/A Module Template Layout Metric N/A 4 Module 5: Getting started
Saving Your Drawings It s a good idea to save a new drawing immediately after you start it, then every 15 minutes after that. If you have a power failure or your computer freezes up, the maximum you can lose is the last 15 minutes of drawing time. When you save a drawing, it creates a file on the disk drive. Choose the disk drive and the folder location on that drive using the Save Drawing As dialogue box. The first time you save your drawing, you will be asked for its name. Once it is named, you can save it quickly with the QSAVE command. Figure 2-4 Save Drawing As Dialogue Box As soon as a drawing is saved, the file location and the drawing name will display in the top left corner of the graphic window. See Figure 2-5 Figure 2-5 Named Drawing 5 Module 5: Getting started
Opening an Existing Drawing To open a previously saved drawing from a disk drive, use the OPEN command. With the Select File dialogue box, you can find the folder location and the drawing you want to open. See figure 2-6. The OPEN command will show a small drawing preview of each drawing to help you select the correct one. AutoCAD Command: OPEN The QSAVE command is used to open a previously saved drawing. Command Line Syntax: Command: OPEN or Command: CTRL+O Figure 2-6 Select File Dialogue Box 6 Module 5: Getting started
Drawing File Extension Names AutoCAD uses many many different file extensions names as you will see as you work way through the AutoCAD Modules. The first three you must know are DWG,DWT and BAK. See Figure 2-7. AutoCAD creates a.bak file when you save a previously filed drawing. When you save the drawing. AutoCAD changes.dwg.dwt.bak ATM1020 AutoCAD 2D-I AutoCAD File Extensions the extension of the existing drawing on the disk to.bak and creates a new file with the extension.dwg. If a drawing file ever gets lost or corrupted, you can change the extension name of the.bak file to.dwg and open in AutoCAD. AutoCAD User Must Know No. 2-3 AutoCAD Drawing AutoCAD Drawing Template Back-up file Figure 2-7 AutoCAD File Extension Names When you save the drawing in AutoCAD, it will add the extension.dwg. When you save the drawing, AutoCAD creates a.bak file from the previous filed drawing. AutoCAD changes the extension of the existing drawing on the disk to.bak and creates a new file with the extension.dwg. If a drawing file ever gets lost or corrupted, you can change the extension name of the.bak file to.dwg and open in AutoCAD. Cancelling or Aborting a Command You can cancel or abort any command by pressing the ESC key on the keyboard. Sometimes you must press it twice to completely abort the command and return you the command prompt. AutoCAD User Must Know No. 2-4 The ESC key, located in the upper left corner of the keyboard, is a very important key when using AutoCAD. When pressed, it will cancel or abort any command and return you to a command prompt. You will be using this key frequently while working in AutoCAD. 7 Module 5: Getting started
Lab Exercise 1-2 Time Allotted: 20 min. Drawing Specifications Name Template Units Text Style Font N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Note: Color, Linetype and Lineweight are all ByLayer unless otherwise instructed. Layering Scheme Objects on Layer Name Color Linetype Lineweight N/A Instructions: 1. Start AutoCAD. 2. IMPORTANT STEP Unless otherwise instructed, each time you start a lab exercise for this course, the graphic screen should be set as shown below: 3. a) Using the NEW command, start a new drawing using the template: Module Template A b) Save the drawing in the folder: CAD Courses/AutoCAD 2D/Lab Exercises Note: You should have this folder structure already created on your hard drive as instructured not yet copmpleted Module Introduction 2, do it now. c) Save it with the name: AutoCAD 2D Lab 02-1 d) Using the CLOSE command, close the drawing. 8 Module 5: Getting started
4. a) Start a new drawing using the template: Module Template A2 b) Save the Drawing in the folder: CAD Courses/AutoCAD2D/Lab Exercises c) Save it with the name: AutoCAD 2D Lab 02-2 d) Close the drawing. 5. a) Start a new drawing using the template: Module Template D b) Save the Drawing in the folder: CAD Courses/AutoCAD2D/Lab Exercises c) Save it with the name: AutoCAD 2D Lab 02-3 d) Close the drawing. 6. Using Windows Explorer, find the folder CAD Courses/AutoCAD2D/Lab Exercises It Shold have a list of 3 drawings as follows: 9 Module 5: Getting started