AUTO CAD 2009: From Basics to Mastery

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The classic interface of AutoCAD 2009 – Auto CAD 2009 from Beginner to Expert (Chinese version). AutoCAD 2009 offers users two workspace modes: “AutoCAD Classic” and “3D Modeling”. For users *accustomed to the traditional AutoCAD interface, the “AutoCAD Classic” workspace can be used. It is mainly composed of elements such as the menu bar, toolbar, drawing window, text window and command line, status bar, etc. l Title bar, menu bar, and shortcut menu, toolbar, drawing window, command line and text window, status bar. l Components of the 3D modeling interface in AutoCAD 2009: 1. Title bar – Located at the top of the application window, it displays information such as the name of the program currently in use and the name of the file; for a standard AutoCAD drawing file, the name is DrawingN.dwg (where N is a number). Click the button at the right end of the title bar to minimize, maximize, or close the application window. On the far left side of the title bar is a small icon for the application; clicking on it brings up a dropdown menu for controlling the AutoCAD window, allowing you to minimize or maximize the window, restore it, move it, or close AutoCAD. 2. Menu Bar and Context Menu: The menu bar of AutoCAD 2009 in Chinese version consists of menus such as “File,” “Edit,” and “View,” covering almost all the functions and commands available in AutoCAD. A shortcut menu is also known as a context-sensitive menu. Right-clicking in the drawing area, toolbar, status bar, Model and Layout tabs, and some dialog boxes will display a shortcut menu whose commands are related to AutoCAD’s current state. Using them allows certain tasks to be completed quickly and efficiently without activating the menu bar. 3. Toolbar: The toolbar is another way for applications to issue commands; it contains many command buttons represented by icons. In AutoCAD, the system provides more than twenty named toolbars in total. By default, toolbars such as “Standard,” “Properties,” “Drawing,” and “Modify” are enabled. To display a toolbar that is currently hidden, right-click on any toolbar; a shortcut menu will appear, and by selecting the appropriate command, you can show or hide that toolbar. -6. Status bar: The status bar is used to display AutoCAD’s current status, such as the coordinates of the current cursor, descriptions of commands and buttons, etc. When moving the cursor in the drawing window, the “Coordinates” section in the status bar will dynamically display the current coordinate values. The coordinate display depends on the selected mode and the commands running in the program; there are 3 modes in total: \"Relative\", \"Absolute\", and \"None\". The status bar also includes 10 functional buttons such as \"Snap,\" \"Grid,\" \"Ortho,\" \"Polar,\" \"Object Snap,\" \"Object Tracking,\" DUCS, DYN, \"Line Width,\" and \"Model\" (or \"Sheet\"). Coordinate capture mode, orthogonal mode, object snap mode; allow/disable dynamic UCS; line width control; communication center; clear screen. 7. Components of the 3D modeling interface in AutoCAD 2009: In AutoCAD 2009, you can quickly switch to the 3D modeling workspace interface by selecting “Tools” | “Workspaces” | “3D Modeling”, or by choosing the “3D Modeling” option from the drop-down list on the “Workspaces” toolbar. “The “3D Modeling” workspace makes it more convenient for users to draw graphics in three-dimensional space. By default, \"Grid\" is displayed in a grid format, adding a three-dimensional sense to the drawing. Additionally, the “Panel” palette integrates option groups such as the “3D Creation Console,” “3D Navigation Console,” “Lighting Console,” “Visual Style Console,” and “Material Console,” thereby providing users with a very convenient environment for drawing 3D graphics, viewing them, creating animations, setting up lighting, and applying materials to 3D objects. 4. Drawing Window: In AutoCAD, the drawing window is the workspace where users create drawings; all drawing results are displayed in this window. The various toolbars around it and inside can be turned off as needed to increase the drawing space. If the drawing is large and you need to view the parts that are not displayed, you can click the arrows on the scroll bars at the right and bottom of the window, or drag the sliders on the scroll bars to move the drawing. In the drawing window, in addition to the current drawing results, it also shows the type of coordinate system being used, as well as the direction of the coordinate origin, the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. By default, the coordinate system is the World Coordinate System (WCS). At the bottom of the drawing window, there are the “Model” and “Layout” tabs; clicking on their labels allows you to switch back and forth between model space and paper space. 5. Command Line and Text Window: The “Command Line” window is located at the bottom of the drawing window; it is used to receive commands entered by the user and to display AutoCAD prompts. In AutoCAD 2009, the “Command Line” window can be dragged and dropped to become a floating window. “The “AutoCAD Text Window” is a window that records AutoCAD commands; it is an enlarged version of the “Command Line” window. It keeps track of the commands that have been executed, and it can also be used to enter new commands. In AutoCAD 2009, you can open the AutoCAD text window by selecting “View” | “Display” | “Text Window”, by using the TEXTSCR command, or by pressing the F2 key; this window records all the operations performed on the document. 1.2.3 Graphic File Management In AutoCAD 2009, graphic file management includes operations such as creating new graphic files, opening existing graphic files, closing graphic files, and saving graphic files. l Create a new graphic file l Open a graphic file l Save a graphic file l Close a graphic file 1. To create a new graphic file, select the “File” | “New” command, or click the “New” button on the “Standard” toolbar; this will open the “Select Template” dialog box. In the “Select Template” dialog box, you can select a template file from the “Name” list box; the preview image of that template will then be displayed in the “Preview” box to its right. Click the “Open” button to create a new drawing using the selected template file as a basis; the layout of the drawing file will be displayed (except when the template file acad.dwt or acadiso.dwt is selected). For example, after creating a new graphic file using the template file ISO A3 - Color Dependent Plot Styles. 2. To open a graphic file, select the “File” | “Open” command, or click the “Open” button on the “Standard” toolbar; this will open an existing graphic file, and the “Select File” dialog box will appear. Select the graphic file you want to open, and a preview image of that graphic will be displayed in the “Preview” box on the right. By default, the format of the opened graphic file is .dwg. In AutoCAD, graphic files can be opened in 4 ways: \"Open\", \"Open as Read-Only\", \"Open Partially\", and \"Open Partially as Read-Only\". When a graphic is opened in \"Open\" or \"Partial Open\" mode, it can be edited; however, if it is opened in \"Open in Read-Only Mode\" or \"Partial Open in Read-Only Mode\", the opened graphic cannot be edited. If you choose to open the graphic as \"Open Locally\" or \"Open Locally in Read-Only Mode\", the \"Open Locally\" dialog box will be displayed. You can select the view to open in the \"View to load geometry\" option group, choose the layer to open in the \"Layer to load geometry\" option group, and then click the \"Open\" button to display the objects on the selected layer in the view. 3. Saving graphic files: In AutoCAD, there are various ways to save the drawn graphics as files on the disk. For example, you can select the “File” | “Save” command (QSAVE), or click the “Save” button on the “Standard” toolbar to save the graphic using the current file name ； You can also choose the “File” | “Save As” command to save the current graphic under a new name. When saving the created graphic for the first time, the “Save Graphic As” dialog box will appear. By default, files are saved in the “AutoCAD 2004 Drawing (*.dwg)” format; however, other formats can also be selected from the “File Type” dropdown list, such as AutoCAD 2000/LT2000 Drawing (*.dwg), AutoCAD Drawing Standard (*.dws), and others. 4. Close the graphic file: Select the “File” | “Close” command, or click the “Close” button in the drawing window to close the current graphic file. If the current drawing has not been saved, AutoCAD will display a warning dialog box asking whether to save the file. At this point, clicking the “Yes (Y)” button or pressing Enter directly will save the current graphic file and close it ； Click the “No (N)” button to close the current graphic file without saving it ； Click the “Cancel” button to abort the operation of closing the current graphic file, meaning it will neither be saved nor closed. If the graphic file being edited currently has no name, clicking the “Yes” button will cause AutoCAD to open the “Save As” dialog box, asking the user to specify the location and name for the graphic file. 1.2.4 Using Commands and System Variables In AutoCAD, menu commands, tool buttons, commands, and system variables are mostly corresponding to each other. You can select a menu command, or click a tool button, or enter commands and system variables in the command line to execute the corresponding command. It can be said that commands are the core of AutoCAD for drawing and editing graphics. l Execute commands using mouse operations l Use the command line l Use transparent commands l Use system variables 1. Execute commands using mouse operations: In the drawing window, the cursor is usually displayed as a crosshair. When the cursor is moved over a menu option, tool, or dialog box, it turns into an arrow. Whether the cursor is in crosshair form or arrow form, clicking or pressing the mouse button will execute the corresponding command or action. In AutoCAD, mouse buttons are defined according to the following rules. l Pick key: Usually refers to the left mouse button, used to designate a point on the screen; it can also be used to select Windows objects, AutoCAD objects, toolbar buttons, and menu commands, among others. l Enter key: refers to the right mouse button, equivalent to the Enter key; it is used to end the currently active command, and at that point the system will display a different shortcut menu depending on the current drawing status. l Pop-up menu: When the Shift key and right mouse button are used together, a shortcut menu is displayed to set the method for capturing points. For a 3-button mouse, the popup button is usually the middle button of the mouse. 2. Using the command line: In AutoCAD 2009, the “command line” is by default a fixed window where commands and object parameters can be entered under the current command line prompt. For most commands, the command line can display the two command prompts after they have been executed (also known as command history); whereas for some output commands, such as TIME and LIST, the full output can only be seen in the enlarged command line or AutoCAD text window. Right-click in the “Command Line” window, and AutoCAD will display a shortcut menu. Through it, it is possible to select the 6 most recently used commands, copy the selected text or the entire command history, paste text, and open the “Options” dialog box. In the command line, you can also use the BackSpace or Delete key to remove text from the command line ； You can also select the command history and execute the “Paste to Command Line” command to paste it into the command line. 3. Using transparent commands: In AutoCAD, transparent commands are those that can be executed while other commands are being run. The commonly used transparent commands are mostly those for modifying graphic settings and drawing aids, such as SNAP, GRID, ZOOM, etc. To use a command in a transparent manner, a single quote (') should be entered before the command. In the command line, a double angle bracket (>>) appears before the prompt for transparent commands. After the transparent command is completed, the original command will be executed. 4. Using system variables: In AutoCAD, system variables are used to control certain functions and the way the design environment and commands work. They can enable or disable drawing modes such as snap, grid, or ortho, set default hatch patterns, or store information related to the current drawing and AutoCAD configuration. System variables are usually abbreviated names with a length of 6 to 10 characters. Many system variables have simple on/off settings. For example, the system variable GRIDMODE is used to show or hide the grid; by entering 0 when prompted with “Enter a new value for GRIDMODE:” in the command line, the grid display can be turned off ； Entering 1 enables grid display. Some system variables are used to store numbers or text; for example, the DATE system variable is used to store the current date. System variables can be modified in the dialog box, or directly in the command line. For example, to use the ISOLINES system variable to modify the wireframe density of a surface, enter the name of this system variable at the command line prompt and press Enter, then enter the new value for the system variable and press Enter again; the detailed steps are as follows. Command: ISOLINES (enter the name of the system variable) Enter new value for ISOLINES: 32 (enter the new value for the system variable)