Mastering AutoCAD: Essential Commands, Shortcuts & More!

 Welcome back to The VJ Tech Blog! If you're diving deeper into AutoCAD after our introduction, you're in for a treat. Today, we're breaking down the core commands, essential function keys, and handy shortcuts that will make your design process smoother, faster, and more intuitive. Knowing these tools is like having a superpower in AutoCAD!

Core AutoCAD Commands & Shortcuts

To make this easier to navigate, we've organized the most frequent commands into pairs of shortcuts and their corresponding commands.

SHORTCUTCOMMAND SHORTCUTCOMMAND
AARCLEADLEADER
AAAREAMMOVE
ARARRAYMIMIRROR
BBLOCKOOFFSET
BOBOUNDARYOPOPTIONS
BRBREAKPPAN
CCIRCLEPEPOLYEDIT
CHCHAMFERPLPLINE
COCOPYPOPOINT
COLCOLORPOLPOLYGON
DDIDIMSTYLEPRPROPERTIES
DIVDIVIDERECRECTANGLE
DODONUTROROTATE
EERASESCSCALE
EREXTENDSTSTYLE (TEXT)
FFILLETT or MTTEXT or MTEXT
HHATCHTBLTABLE
IINSERTTRTRIM
JJOINUUNDO
LLINEUNUNITS
LALAYERVVIEW
LELEADERXEXPLODE

Dimensioning Commands

Precise dimensions are crucial for technical drawings. These commands help you add them efficiently.

SHORTCUTCOMMANDSHORTCUTCOMMAND
DDIDIMSTYLEDALDIMALIGNED
DLDIMLINEDANDIMANGULAR
DADIMBASELINEDCDIMCONTINUED
DCODIMCONTINUEDDIDIAMETER
DRDIMRADIUSDEDIMEDIT
DORDIMORDINATE

Function Keys (F Keys) for Quick Access

These keys are your best friends for toggling features on and off without interrupting your workflow.

SHORTCUTCOMMANDSHORTCUTCOMMAND
F1HELPF8 or CTRL+LORTHO
F3OSNAPF5 or CTRL+EISOPLAN
F7 or CTRL+GGRIDF9 or CTRL+BSNAP
F10 or CTRL+UPOLARF11 or CTRL+WOSNAP TRACK
F12DYNMODE

Text Formatting Commands

Making text clear and legible is vital.

SHORTCUTCOMMANDSHORTCUTCOMMAND
%%CØ (Diameter)%%D° (Degree)
%%P± (Plus/Minus)DTDTEXT
T or MTTEXT or MTEXTSTSTYLE (Text)
MIRRTEXTMIRRTEXT

Three-Dimensional (3D) Commands

Start exploring the third dimension with these fundamental commands.

SHORTCUTCOMMANDSHORTCUTCOMMAND
BOXBOXCYLCYLINDER
EXTEXTRUDEININTERSECT
REVREVOLVERNDRENDER
SUBSUBTRACTUNIUNION
VPORTSVIEWPORTS

This is a powerful set of tools at your fingertips. Keep this post handy as you practice and explore AutoCAD. Don't hesitate to try out these commands and see how they work!

What other AutoCAD topics would you like to cover next?

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