VIDEO TUTORIAL PART III AND IV

Part III (basic modifying commands)

Move and copy command

1. Moving a geometry
a. Select the move tool from the modify panel (four arrows pointing in the direction of the
four cardinal points)
b. Click on the geometry
c. Press enter
d. Specify the base point (point from which object will be picked) by clicking on it
e. Specify the second point (destination point selected in “d” where the base point of the
copied object will reside) and click on it
2. Making copies of a geometry (one at a time)
a. Select the copy tool from the modify panel (a white circle with an arrow pointing down
to two blue circles)
b. Select the geometry
c. Press enter
d. Select the base point of the object to be copied by clicking on it
e. Click at the destination point(s) where you want the objects to be copied to (note that
this can be done for several points which will create copies of several objects)
3. Making copies of a geometry (several at a time) using the array object
a. Select the copy tool from the modify panel (a white circle with an arrow pointing down
to two blue circles)
b. Select the geometry
c. Press enter
d. Specify the base point of the object by clicking on it
e. Click on the array tool in the command bar
f. Enter the number of items in the array into the command bar
g. Move the mouse cursor to increase the interval between the geometries in the array
h. You can also specify the total distance that the array should cover by selectin the fit tool
in the status bar. This moves the cursor to the last geometry in the array and allows you
to select the final point where it will end.
i. Press enter to release the tool

Rotate command

1. Rotating a geometry (for example, a line)

a. Select the rotate command from the modify panel (an incomplete circle (arc) with an
arrow at one end)
b. Select the geometry
c. Press enter
d. Specify the base point (pivot point around which the object will rotate) by clicking on it
e. There are two ways of rotating the geometry
i. Moving the mouse cursor to the position where you want the geometry to be
and clicking the left mouse button
 ii. Specifying the angle by typing the value of the angle by typing it in the dynamic
tool tip and then pushing enter
f. Note that the angle measurement is always done from the original angle of the
geometry that is being rotated
2. Rotating a geometry relative to another geometry (for example, two lines meeting at an angle)
a. Determine the angle between the two geometries by using the dimension tool in the
annotation panel
b. Select the rotate command from the modify panel (an incomplete circle (arc) with an
arrow at one end)
c. Select the geometry
d. Press enter
e. Specify the base point (pivot point around which the object will rotate) by clicking on it
f. There are two ways of ensuring that you get the right angle relative to the second
geometry
i. Select the reference option from the command bar and type in the angle
between the geometry being rotated and the other geometry. Then type in the
new angle you want between them and push enter. USED WHEN YOU KNOW
THE ANGLE
ii. Select the reference option from the command bar and select two points on the
geometry to be rotated. Then type in the total angle you want between the two
geometries and then push enter. USED WHEN YOU DO NOT KNOW THE ANGLE
3. Rotating a geometry and keeping a copy of it in the original position
a. Select the rotate command from the modify panel (an incomplete circle (arc) with an
arrow at one end)
b. Select the geometry
c. Press enter
d. Specify the base point (pivot point around which the object will rotate) by clicking on it
e. Select the “copy” option from the command bar
f. Rotate the geometry by either:
i. Moving the mouse cursor to the position where you want the geometry to be
and clicking the left mouse button
ii. Specifying the angle by typing the value of the angle by typing it in the dynamic
tool tip and then pushing enter

Mirror and scale commands

1. Creating a mirror image of a geometry

a. Select the mirror tool from the modify panel (two triangles separated by a cross bar)
b. Select the object
c. Press enter
d. Specify the first and second points of the mirror line (line of symmetry)
e. Specify whether you would like to erase the source object or not by selecting the yes or
no options from the command bar
f. Press enter to complete the process
2. Creating a mirror image of a text
 a. Select the mirror tool from the modify panel (two triangles separated by a cross bar)
b. Select the text
c. Press enter
d. Specify the first and second points of the mirror line (line of symmetry)
e. Press enter
f. Note that this does not create a mirror image but simply a copy of the original text (no
lateral inversion)
g. To create a mirror image, the mirrtext variable must be set to 1 before the process
begins from “a”
3. Scaling a geometry
a. Select the scale tool from the modify panel (a small square inside a big square)
b. Press enter
c. Specify the base point (point that remains fixed as the object is being scaled) by clicking
on it
d. Scaling of the object can be done in two ways
i. Moving the cursor and clicking on the left mouse button when the required
scaling has been achieved
ii. Typing out the scale factor of the object in the command bar and pushing enter
4. Scaling a geometry whilst maintaining the original copy of it
a. Select the scale tool from the modify panel (a small square inside a big square)
b. Press enter
c. Specify the base point (point that remains fixed as the object is being scaled) by clicking
on it
d. Select the copy option from the command bar by clicking on it
e. Scaling of the object can be done in two ways
i. Moving the cursor and clicking on the left mouse button when the required
scaling has been achieved
ii. Typing out the scale factor of the object in the command bar and pushing enter
5. Scaling a geometry to a line
a. Select the scale tool from the modify panel (a small square inside a big square)
b. Press enter
c. Specify the base point (point that remains fixed as the object is being scaled) by clicking
on it
d. Select the reference option from the command bar by clicking on it
e. Select the reference length by clicking on the base point and then the end of the line of
the geometry that coincides with the base point and the line to which the geometry is to
be scaled up to
f. Scale up the object by moving the cursor to the end of the line to which the scaling up is
supposed to be done to
g. Click at the end of the line to complete the scaling up
h. Erase the original line to complete the entire process

Trim and extend commands

Note that trimming can only be done when the previous boundary for the segment to be trimmed can
be found. Also, complete segments between two boundaries that have no continuation after both
boundaries cannot be trimmed

1. Trimming segments
a. Select the trim tool from the modify panel (a horizontal line crossed by an inclined line)
b. Press enter to select all objects in the drawing area
c. Click on the segment you want to trim (segments that can be trimmed become
transparent as soon as you hover the mouse over them)
d. Click on the segment to complete the trimming
e. Note that:
i. the tool remains active until you push the escape key
ii. the trimming tool can also be used to trim other geometries such as arc, circles,
…
2. Trimming with the fence option
a. Select the trim tool from the modify panel (a horizontal line crossed by an inclined line)
b. Press enter to select all objects in the drawing area
c. Select the fence option from the command bar
d. Draw the fence line across any geometry segments that you want to trim
e. Press enter to complete the trimming
f. Press the escape key to free the trimming tool
3. Trimming with respect to boundaries of specific objects
a. Select the trim tool from the modify panel (a horizontal line crossed by an inclined line)
b. Select the geometry with respect to whose boundaries you will like to do the trimming
by clicking on it
c. Press enter
d. Select the segment that you want to trim by hovering your mouse over it
e. Complete the trimming by clicking on the left mouse button
f. Press the escape key when you are done trimming to free the trimming tool
g. Note: segments of geometries that are contained within the geometry with respect to
which the trimming is being done cannot be trimmed (eg, a square within the geometry
with respect to which trimming is done, a similar square that shares one of its borders
with the object will equally not be trimmed)
4. Extending geometries to the next boundary
a. Go to the fly out of the trim tool and select the extend tool
b. Press enter to select all objects in the drawing area
c. Select the segment that you want to extend by hovering over it and if extension is
possible it will be display immediately
d. Click to implement the extension
e. Press the escape key to free the extend tool
5. Extending with respect to boundaries of specific objects
a. Select the extend tool from the modify panel (a horizontal line crossed by an inclined
line)
b. Select the geometry with respect to whose boundaries you will like to do the extension
by clicking on it
 c. Press enter
d. Select the segment that you want to extend by hovering your mouse over it
e. Complete the extension by clicking on the left mouse button
f. Press the escape key when you are done trimming to free the trimming tool
6. Toggling between the trim and extend commands
a. You can easily toggle to the trim command whilst the extend command is active and
vice versa by holding down the shift key whilst performing the operations

Erase, explode and overkill commands

1. Explode command (allows you to geometries drawn with polylines or blocks into single line
segments)
a. Select the explode command from the modify panel (looks like a box split into its various
sides)
b. Click on the geometry
c. Press enter
2. Erase command

There are three ways of erasing objects:

a. Using the erase tool from the modify panel (looks like a pencil with an eraser)
i. Select the erase tool from the modify panel
ii. Select all the objects you want to erase and push enter
iii. Note: the order of “a” and “b” does not matter
b. Using the delete key
i. Select the objects you want to erase
ii. Push the delete key to erase the objects
c. Using the right contextual menu
i. Select the objects that you want to erase
ii. Click the right mouse button
iii. Select the erase tool from the right contextual menu to erase the objects
3. Overkill command (Used to erase overlapping lines)
a. Select the overkill tool from the fly out of the modify tab (looks like a
broom)/alternatively you can use its command equivalent of “overkill” by typing it in the
dynamic tool strip
b. Select the entire object that has the overlapping lines
c. Press enter
d. Click ok in the window that pops up to complete the removal of overlapping lines

Fillet and chamfer tool (used to transform sharp corners of geometries into rounded or slanting corners
respectively)

1. Fillet tool
a. Select the fillet tool from the modify panel
b. Expand the command line if necessary to display the mode and radius settings (for now,
they should be set to trim and radius)
c. Adjust the radius to the appropriate magnitude
 d. Click on two lines that intersect at a point to apply the fillet automatically

Other things to note about the fillet tool

a. To continue using the fillet tool simply press enter. Note that this approach will
deactivate the fillet tool after each corner and you will have to click on enter again if you
want to use the tool again.
b. To use the tool for multiple corners without clicking enter select the multiple command
from the command bar after step “c” and then keep on clicking on line segments that
intersect at a point
c. To apply fillet to all the corners of the geometry select the multiple command from the
command bar after step “c” and them simply click on the polyline geometry
d. To keep the extra portion of the corner that is chipped off after fillet is applied to it
simply set the “trim” command in the command bar by clicking on it and selecting the
“no trim” command after option “c”
e. Finally, fillet can also be applied to lines that do not actually meet but will eventually
meet. The process of applying the fillet is the same as the one described above. Note, by
setting the radius to 0, you can extend the lines until they finally meet.
2. Chamfer tool
a. Select the chamfer tool by clicking on the fly out of the fillet tool in the modify tab and
selecting it from there
b. Adjust the chamfer dist 1 and 2 to the appropriate magnitude (greater than 0) by
selecting the distance command from the command bar and entering the values for
chamfer dist 1 pressing enter and then entering the value for chamfer dist 2 and
pressing enter to complete the process.
c. Select the first and second line segments the corner of which has to be chamfered by
clicking on them
d. Note that if you want to continue using the chamfer tool, you will have to click enter to
re-enable it just as was the case with the fillet tool

Other things to note about the chamfer tool

a. To chamfer all the corners of a polyline geometry, select the polyline command from the
command bar after step “b”
b. To use the chamfer tool without the need to press enter after each step, select the
multiple command from the command bar after step “b”
c. In order to keep the edges chipped off after chamfer is applied, change the trim mode in
the command bar to no trim after step “b”
d. You can also apply the chamfer tool to lines that do not actually meet just as was done
for the fillet tool in “other things to note about the fillet tool “e””

Part IV (drawing tools)

1. Enabling orthomode (used to draw horizontal or vertical lines only)

However, you can snap to points that do not necessarily result in horizontal or vertical lines.
Cannot be enabled at the same time as the polar mode.
 To turn it on, click on the orthomode toggle in the status bar (right angle icon) or push the F8
key
2. Enabling polar tracking mode (used to draw angles with polar tracking set to specific angles)
Cannot be enabled at the same time as the orthomode
To turn the polar tracking mode on, click on its icon in the status bar (a circle with a sector in it)
or push the F10 key
Tracking vectors allows you to easily identify incremental angles and even snaps you to them
3. Changing the angle of the tracking vector when polar tracking mode
a. Click on the small arrow next to the polar tracking mode
b. Select the required increments for the angle
c. If the angle that you want is not there then click on the tracking setting
i. Select the additional angle check box
ii. Click on the “New” button
iii. Type in the angles magnitude
iv. Press enter
v. Click on ok
vi. Go back to the fly out button for the polar tracking toggle and your new angle
should be there
vii. However, if the new angle is there but not accurate. Say 18 instead 17.5 then
you need to adjust the angle precision in the units window (already treated)
d. To delete a custom added angle, select the “Delete” instead of the “New” button in step
“c”, ii and then click on the “Ok” command button to delete the custom angle
4. Object snap tools (used in snapping the pointer to a portion of an existing geometry for more
accurate drawings)
a. To turn on the object snap option click on its toggle in the status bar (looks like a square
with a green dot at the top left corner) or push the F3 key
b. You can access the snap object options from the right contextual option (place your
pointer over a shape and click on the right mouse button)
c. The object snap tool recognizes several points on geometries such as:
i. Endpoint of a line
ii. Midpoint of a line
iii. Center of a circle
iv. …
To toggle between those point click on the fly out arrow next to the object snap tool and
selecting the point that you need

However, note that it’s a bad idea to have too many of the snap points enabled at once
since there can be a conflict. E.g. having the center of a circle and the midpoint of a line
enabled at the same time for a geometry where the circles diameter is slightly shifted
from the center point.
5. Rectangular array (used to create copies of objects in a rectangular array format)
a. To enable the rectangular array tool go to the modify panel and click on its icon (4 blue
boxes with 1 white box in the top left corner)
 b. Note that you may have to click on the fly out button since there are several options
under that button (rectangular array, path array, polar array)
c. Select the complete set of objects from which you want to create the array
d. Push the enter key
6. Manipulating the rectangular array (used when the array is still being created post applying the
array tool in (5) to a set of objects)
a. To increase or decrease the number of objects either by holding the grips at the bottom
left corner or top right corner and dragging it up or down/right to left to increase or
decrease the number of columns or rows respectively
b. To change the gap between rows and columns, you can hold the grips at the second row
and second column located next to the square grip. Dragging these grips up or
down/left to right will increase or decrease the spacing between the rows or columns of
the objects in you rectangular array
c. Note that spacing between objects that make up your rows or columns is calculated
between the same points of two consecutive objects (use desk in the classroom as an
example)
d. You can equally change the number of elements as well as adjust the distance between
objects (more accurately) by using the tools in the columns and rows tabs of the ribbon.
Note that you can’t use levels at this point because we are only working with 2D
drawings.
e. Another option that can be found in the ribbon is the associative option. Note that as
long as you still want to make the array editable, you should keep the associative option
active
f. When you have done all your adjustments post drawing the array, click on the “close
array” option in the ribbon
7. Further modification of a rectangular array (performed after the initial editing described in step
6)
a. Selecting the “Edit Source” option from the options tab in the ribbon will allow you to
make modifications to the source object that will be replicated to all other objects
i. Click on the Edit Source option
ii. Select the object on which you want to make the modification
iii. Click on ok in the pop up window
iv. Make the modifications as desired to the selected object
v. In order to save the changes made, go to the “edit array” panel in the ribbon
and click on save changes
8. Polar array tool (used to make arrays in which objects are added along a circular circumference
at specific angles)
a. To enable the polar array tool go to the modify panel and click on its icon (4 blue boxes
with 1 white box in the top left corner)
b. Note that you may have to click on the fly out button since there are several options
under that button (rectangular array, path array, polar array)
c. Select the object from which you want to create the array
d. Push the enter key
e. Specify the center point for the array by clicking on it
 f. This will create a default array that can be edited
9. Modifying the default array
a. In the items panel of the ribbon:
i. items will change the number of items in the array
ii. Angle will change the angle between the items (affected by the fill value)
iii. Fill will fit all the items in the array into a specific angle (affected by angle)
b. In the rows panel of the ribbon:
i. Rows determine the number of rows that the objects make around the central
point of the polar array
ii. Between and total are note necessary for now
c. The levels panel is also not important because we are working with a 2D drawing
d. The associative option plays the same role as in the rectangular array. Keep it active if
you still want to modify the array after you finish with the default modifications
e. The rotate items option in the properties tab will make all the objects face in the
direction of the original object that was used to create the array instead of having them
face the center of the array
f. After you have finished your modification, click on the close array to close the edit panel
10. Making further modifications to your polar array
a. If you left the associative option active, clicking on the array will select all the objects do
the following to apply the changes to all of the objects
i. Click on edit source as you did with the rectangular array
ii. Select the source object
iii. Click on the ok button in the window that pops up
iv. Make the modifications that you desire to the source object
v. Click on save array to save changes
b. To make changes to just one object do the following
i. Insert or draw your replacement object
ii. Select the array once more
iii. Select replace item from the options tab in the ribbon
iv. Select the replacement object and press enter
v. Specify the base point for the replacement object (preferably its center)
vi. Specify the array object that you want to replace and place enter
vii. Press enter one more time to exit the replacement mode
viii. Delete the original object
c. To make the objects in the array become completely separate objects then simply
explode the array using the explode command or pushing the “X” key and pressing enter
11. Finding distance, radius, angle and coordinates for geometries
a. The enquiry commands under the utilities panel (looks like a calculator) are what are
used to find the above measures
b. In the utilities tab click on the fly out under the measure command (looks like a rule with
a measured angle on top) and select the tool that you want to use: distance, radius,
angle, or area
c. Based on the command, select one or more objects from your geometry and increase
the size of the command bar
 d. The measures you are looking for as well as some other parameters will be displayed at
the top of the command bar
i. Distance (shortcut = DI): select the base and end point: distance, angle in xy
plane, Delta X (change in x axis), Delta Y (change in y axis).
ii. Radius: click on the circle or arc: gives both radius and diameter. Can be used for
arcs as well
iii. Angle: click on the two lines between which you want to find the angle
e. ID point (used to find the coordinates of geometries and not part of the measures tab)
i. Go to the utilities tab
ii. Select the ID point command
iii. Click at the point for which you want to find the coordinates

Part V (drawing features and properties)

1. Color and line type (used to change the color of geometry lines as well as their appearance
(dotted, broken, …)
a. Changing the color of a line(s) that make up a geometry
i. Select the line(s) that make up the geometry
ii. Go to the properties panel in the ribbon
iii. Click on the by layer button next to the color wheel
iv. Select the color that you wish to apply to your geometry outlines and push
enter
v. If the color is not there then go to more colors and select what you need and
click on ok
b. Changing the property of your lines
i. Select the lines whose property you would like to change
ii. Click on the by layer button next to the line types (represented by broken lines)
iii. Select the line type that you want and push enter to apply the property to your
line(s)
iv. If the line type you want isn’t among the ones that are displayed in the options
of the combo button then:
1. Select other
2. Click on the load button
3. Select the line type that you want
4. Click on ok
5. Click on ok in the main window
6. Go back to the by layer combo button and select the newly added line
type by clicking on it
Note: after you apply the line type it might not be visible. This will be due to the
scaling factor which you can access from the property palate. To activate that:
select the line(s), right click anywhere in the working area and select properties
from the pop up window. Go to line type scale property and adjust the scale
accordingly. Try 0.008.
2. Basic hatches and gradients (used to change the appearance of areas inside geometries as well
as to color them)
a. Select the hatch tool from the draw panel (looks like a frame with the inside hatched)
b. This will open the hatch creation tab which will remain active as long as the command is
active
c. Select the hatch pattern that you want to apply by selecting it from the patterns tab in
the ribbon. Note, you can scroll through the patterns by clicking on the arrows in the tab
until you find the one that you want.
d. Activate the pick points cursor by clicking on the pick points button in the boundaries
tab of the ribbon (looks like a box with a green cross in it)
e. Move the pick points cursor to an island in the geometry to select it. When the pick
points cursor finds a complete island the hatch pattern will automatically show over it
f. Click on the area that you want to hatch to apply the pattern
g. Alternatively you can activate the pick box tool by clicking on the select tool in the
boundaries tab of the ribbon (looks like a hatched box with a green plus at the side). The
pick box tool allows you to select areas to hatch by clicking on boundaries instead of
placing the cursor inside the island of a complete boundary
h. To remove boundaries you can click on the remove tool in the boundaries tab of the
ribbon (looks like a hatched box with a cross next to it), select the boundary of the
hatched area that you want to remove and click on it

NB: if the pattern you applied is different from what you chose then it means that your scale
is wrong. To change that you will need to go to the properties panel and change the scale
from there (icon looks like a small white square at the left bottom side of a bigger blue
square). Try a scale value of 200.

i. To change the color of your hatch:

i. Go to the hatch color icon denoted by the normal hatch icon with three colored
dots next to it (middle icon) in the properties window
ii. Select the color that you want by clicking on it. Note that selecting more colors
is the same as it was for the line
j. To change the background of your hatch
i. Go to the background color combo box (found immediately after the hatch color
combo box in the properties window)
ii. Select the color that you want by clicking on it. Note that selecting more colors
is the same as it was for the line
k. To change the transparency of your hatch:
i. Go to the hatch transparency option (looks like three layers of sheets) in the
properties tab and change its value to what you require
ii. Note that hatch transparency ranges between 0 and 90 with 90 being the max
l. To change the angle of the hatch design (alters the angle of the original hatch pattern)
i. Go to the angle settings found immediately after the angle tool
ii. Alter the value as you require
NB: the angle of your hatch changes with respect to the original angle of the
hatch. Hence, if you had a hatch which consisted of lines at a 45 degree angle,
 changing the hatch angle to 45 degrees will reposition the lines to be at a 90
degree angle.
m. Click on the close hatch creation button in the close tab of the ribbon to complete the
creation process
3. Creating and assigning layers (used to group objects into different categories)
a. To view the current layer to which your objects are assigned:
i. Go to the layers tab in the ribbon and check the layer combo box (top most
combo box of the tab)
b. To add a layer to your drawing:
i. Go to the layers property manager in the layers tab of the ribbon (looks like
three layers of sheets with a note under them) and click on it. This will display
the layers palate manager.
ii. Click on the add new layer icon (looks like three sheets with an orange star at
the bottom right corner) and a new layer will be added
iii. Normally layer will be named in chronological order (layer 1, layer 2, layer 3).
But you can give your layer a custom name by either entering it as soon as a
layer is created or by right clicking on it and selecting the rename option.
iv. The green check next to a layer in the layers palate manager indicates the
currently active layer
c. To delete a layer from your drawing
i. Select the layer to delete
ii. Click on the delete icon (looks like 3 sheets with an x at the bottom right corner)
d. Assigning object to layers
i. Select the similar objects that you will like to add.
Note: one simple way to select similar objects is to select one of them (eg.
Dimensions), right click on the main drawing area, select “select similar”.
ii. Go to the layers combo box in the layers tab of the ribbon
iii. Select the layer that you want to add the objects to
iv. Push the escape key
Note: to check if your objects have been really added to the layer:
1. Select any of the objects
2. Check the name of the active layer in the current layer tab
3. When you push the escape key, the active layer should change to 0

Note:

i. the defpoints layer is automatically created for every autocad drawing

ii. you cannot delete layer 0 and the defpoints layer
iii. you cannot delete the currently active layer
iv. you cannot delete layers containing objects
v. you cannot delete x-ref dependent layers
4. layer properties manager palate
a. the layer properties manager shows all the currently available layers
b. currently active layer is shown by a green check mark
 c. you can swap currently active layers in the layer properties manager by selecting the
layer and then clicking on the set active layer icon (looks like 3 sheets with a tick mark at
the bottom right corner)
d. By selecting a layer as an active layer, you are telling autocad to place all newly created
geometries on that layer
e. You can change multiple properties of a layer of objects from the properties manager by
simply clicking on the icon in the appropriate column that corresponds to the layer
i. Color: change the color from the pop up window
ii. On/off option: displays/hides objects from the drawing area
iii. Freeze/thaw: hide/display objects from the drawing area. Also makes objects
invisible/visible to the background processing of your computer. Helps improve
performance of autocad (especially for large drawings)
iv. Lock/unlock: makes objects un editable/editable. Locked objects are dimmed
out
v. Line type: allows you to change the line properties of all compatible objects in
that layer
vi. Transparency: same as the one we looked at before
vii. Line weight: same as the one we looked at

Note: for line weight and line weight differences to show, the line weight and
line type options in the status bar must be turned on (icons look like a set of
lines and a checkered board.

viii. Plot: adds or removes objects in layer from the plot (print out)

Note: defpoints layer will always have its plot toggle turned off

Part VI (dimensions and annotations)

1. Dimensions and annotations can be added from several places in autocad

a. Dimensions can be added from the annotation group of the home tab
b. Dimensioning and annotations can also be added from the annotation tab
2. The notes that follow are for “b”
a. To add dimensions to a drawing, go to the annotate tab
b. Go to the dimension button (icon looks like a double headed arrow between two
vertical lines) and click on the fly out next to it to display the dimensioning tools
i. Linear dimension: used to generate measurement lines that are either
horizontal or vertical
1. Click on the linear dimension tool found under the dimension fly out to
select it
2. Select the first point and then the second point of the line to measure
3. Then drag the cursor in a vertical manner to stretch vertical dimensions
and in a horizontal manner to stretch the horizontal dimension
4. Click one more time to place the dimension at the desired distance from
the line being measured
 5. An alternative way of doing this is to select the dimensioning tool and
then clicking enter
6. The cursor will change into the pick box
7. Simply click on the line you want to measure and then drag the
measurement line out just as you did in 3 above
8. Finally, click one more time to place the measurement line at the
desired location
ii. Aligned dimension tool: used to generate measurement lines that are aligned to
the line that is being measured
1. Select the aligned option from the dimension tool under the dimensions
group
2. Select the two points (beginning and end) of the line that you will like to
measure
3. Stretch out the measurement line to a position where you want the
dimension to be placed
4. Click again to place the measurement line there and complete the
process
Note: You can also follow the steps from 5 to 8 in “i” above to create
aligned dimensions. However, do not forget to select the aligned
dimension tool instead of the linear dimension tool
iii. Angular dimension tool: used to generate measurements for angles formed by
two lines as well as their extensions and also arcs
1. Select the angular option from the dimension tool found under the
dimensions group
2. Select the two lines which form the angle that you want to measure
3. Extend the pointer to extend the measurement arc as required
4. Click on the location where you want the measurement arc to end to
complete the process
Note: as stated, this tool can also be used to measure angles formed by
an extension of the two selected lines or even a selected arc
iv. Arc length tool: used to measure the length (circumference of an arc)
1. Select the arc length option from the dimension tool found under the
dimensions group
2. Click on the arch whose length (circumference) you want to measure
3. Extend the pointer to extend the measurement arc as required
4. Click on the location where you want the measurement arc to end to
complete the process
v. Radius tool: used to measure the radius of a circle/arc. Radius measurement is
represented with an “R”
1. Select the radius option from the dimension tool found under the
dimensions group
2. Click on the geometry (circle/arc) to display its radius
 vi. Diameter tool: used to measure the diameter of a circle/arc. diameter
measurement is represented with a phi “ø”
1. Select the diameter option from the dimension tool found under the
dimensions group
2. Click on the geometry (circle/arc) to display its radius
vii. Jogged: used to add radius to geometries to circles or arcs but it comes with a
jogged line. Used in cases where the geometry is very large and its center most
likely lies outside the drawing area.
1. Select the jogged option from the dimension tool found under the
dimensions group
2. Click on the location where you want the jogged radius or diameter to
begin. Note: it must be on the inner portion of the arc or circle and must
not necessarily be at the middle of the circle or arc
3. Click where you want the jogged line to begin (starting from the
circumference of the circle or arc)
4. Click where you want the jogged line to end to complete the process
viii. Ordinate option: used to add x and y coordinates to points
1. Select the ordinate option from the dimension tool found under the
dimensions group
2. Click on the location where you will like to insert the ordinate point
3. Move the resulting ordinate measurement in the vertical or horizontal
direction to obtain either the x or y coordinates respectively
4. Click on the point where you want the coordinate measure to be placed
to complete the process

Note that you can place dimensions on specific layers by selecting the
appropriate layer from the layer drop down box in the dimensions group.

3. Modifying dimensions
a. Note that the defpoint layer is added as soon as you add dimensions to your drawing. It
stores all the definition points of your dimensions
b. Note that the contents of the defpoint layer does not appear when you print the
drawing
c. Dimensions basically consist of three parts
i. The dimension line: arrow with 2 heads
ii. Extension lines: lines that bound the dimension line
iii. Dimension text: text that tells you the magnitude of the dimension
d. All of these parameters can be modified
e. To make modifications to a dimension:
i. Click on the dimension
ii. Move your cursor to the dimension grip lines that appear (do not click)
iii. A number of modification options appear that differ based on the dimension
option
iv. Select the option that you want by clicking on it and modify as desired
 v. When you have finished your modification click the left mouse button to
complete the process.
vi. Some of the dimension options include:
1. Linear option: stretch, move with dim line, move text only, move with
leader, above dim line, center vertically, reset text position.
2. Diameter option: stretch and flip arrow
Note that dimensions are associative and therefore change/adjust as the
geometry to which they were assigned changes dimensions. To break this
association, simply click on the grip that marks a point from which the
dimension measurement began and move it from its original point. This can be
undone by doing the opposite (moving the grip back to the edge of the
geometry where it originally was)
4. Creating multiline text (used when you want more control over the text properties)
a. Can be invoked using the text icon (looks like a big “A”) in the text group
b. To toggle between single line and multiline text click on the fly out and select the option
of choice
c. Shortcut for multiline text is “MTEXT”
d. Using multiline text
i. Select the multiline text tool using the methods described above
ii. Click the location in the drawing area where you want the text to begin
iii. Click again but this time in the drawing area to display the text box
Note: The text automatically wraps over when it gets to the end of the text box
iv. To eliminate wrapping over, you can stretch the text box by clicking on the
diamond shaped grip at its left end and stretching it
v. You can also add more lines on purpose by pushing the enter key
vi. Click anywhere outside the text box to exit it and complete the process
Note: you can return to modifying the text by double clicking on it
vii. The modification tools available for multiline text are very similar to those that
are available in simple word processors such as MS Word and include but are
not limited to:
1. Font size
2. Font style
3. Strike through
4. Overline
5. Underline
6. Super script
7. Sub script
8. Stacking/fractions
9. Text color
10. Justification
11. Symbols
e. You can also import .txt files into autocad using the mtext tool
i. Select the multiline tool
ii. Create a text box as described in “d” above
 iii.Click on the text editor tab in the ribbon
iv. Click on the fly out in the tools panel
v. Select import text
vi. Navigate to where you have the .txt file that you want to import and click on
open to complete the process
5. Creating and formatting tables
a. Tables can be added in autocad by selecting the table icon (looks like a normal excel
spreadsheet) from the tables group in the annotate tab of the ribbon. You can also use
the shortcut “TABLE”. After that, there are two options for creating a table:
i. In the insert table window do not temper with any other setting except the
insertion behavior and the column row setting
ii. Ensure that in insertion behavior you have the specify insertion point option
selected
iii. Under the column and row settings enter the number of columns and number
of rows as well as the column width and row height
iv. Click on ok to create the table
The second approach is:
i. In the insert table window do not temper with any other setting except the
insertion behavior and the column row setting
ii. Ensure that in insertion behavior you have the specify window option selected.
This option either allows you to select the number of data rows or the row
height (in the column and row setting portion of the window) but not the two at
the same time. Same thing applies to the columns setting.
iii. Under the column and row settings enter the number of columns and number
of rows as well as the column width and row height
iv. When you have set the parameters that you require, click on ok to create the
table
b. Tables in autocad behave just like the tables in MS Excel
i. Clicking on any of the cells in the table will display the table cell option
ii. These options include but are not limited to:
1. Increasing the length of the table by dragging grips
2. Increasing the height of rows by dragging grips
3. Increasing the width of columns by dragging grips
4. Merging cells
5. Deleting and adding rows and columns
6. Aligning text in columns by simply selecting a cell and typing text into it
7. Changing the font color of text
8. Changing the background of cells
9. Locking the content of cells