Improving your competency using AutoCAD isn’t just about improving your ability to achieve the designs that you have locked away in your imagination; it’s also about reducing the time that it takes you.
Even if you are a wizard when it comes to AutoCAD, if it takes you too long to design an object, you can expect to be met with a few frowns in the office.
Navigating the platform’s ribbon each time you want to use a specific tool can serve as an effective means of finding your way around when learning the ropes. If you want to shave some valuable time off your design process, then you should consider learning some commands.
In this article, we have compiled the most essential commands for you to learn and implement when using AutoCAD to become more effective and efficient with the software.
These commands are essential for the most essential tasks that you will encounter as a beginner. From drawing lines and circles to managing objects and layers, these commands will give you the skills to navigate the software with ease.
External References
Let’s kick things off with one of the more complex commands that you will encounter as a beginner. The External References command is essential for efficiently collaborating and managing detailed AutoCAD drawings.
Once you understand the appropriate use cases, this powerful tool will enable you to incorporate external drawing files into your current drawing.
With this command in your arsenal, you can seamlessly reference and update components from other drawings, making for a more streamlined workflow.
The External References command is a no-brainer to include in this list, as it offers a range of functionalities for you to enhance your productivity.
You can attach DWG files as external references, binding named objects to your current drawing. On top of all that, you can crop the display of external references or block references to specific boundaries to give you a more organized workspace to work on.
You can save yourself the process of figuring things out for yourself by following a number of key tips for beginners.
Plot
If you enjoy collaborating with others and working as part of a team then you are definitely going to find yourself implementing the plot function perhaps more frequently than some of the other mentions on this list.
This command can be a great tool for producing quality printed drawings and sharing your designs with others.
Basically, it lets you adjust settings to ensure that your drawings are accurately displayed on paper or digitally. We all know how frustrating it can be to spend time working away on a masterpiece only for the file to present difficulties to anyone who attempts to view it.
Thankfully, this little gem of a command provides options to manage the appearance, scale, and layout of your printed output to avoid such problems from occurring.
If you go ahead and input the command the next time you are using AutoCAD, you will see that you have the flexibility to print the drawing, a layout or selected viewports, giving you precise control over the final result.
Block
In the interest of assembling a list of the top commands in AutoCAD, there was simply no getting around, including the block function. This is a tool that you will find yourself applying across just about any project you can perform in AutoCAD.
The block command enables you to merge different elements of your projects together, which saves you plenty of time during the design process.
This feature proves handy when you are drawing an object or group of objects frequently over the span of an entire project.
In order to understand how a block works without playing around with the command yourself, imagine you wish to design a symbol for a telephone manhole using CAD elements.
What a block does is it allows you to unite these elements and reality recreate them if needed at a later stage in your design process.
If you want to try and craft a block yourself, just make make sure that all elements are on layer zero and double check that you’ve set their properties to "ByLayer." Now you should be all set to implement the command and start saving time in your future designs.
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Design Center
As a beginner, you should always be on the lookout for tools that will help simplify the design process. The Design Center is one such command that will forever change how you access and organize content from sources.
This is, without a doubt, one of the more popular commands available within AutoCAD because it makes inserting and working with blocks, details, and just about any design element effortless.
By adding the Design Center command to your arsenal, you will instantly notice a difference in your efficiency when it comes to reusing design elements and the collaborative design practices it presents.
One benefit of the Design Center that will be evident from when you start using the command is that it allows you to preview and modify content before incorporating it into your drawing.
If you have spent even a few hours using AutoCAD you will have a sense for how much of a game changer this can be that eliminates the trial and error process of adding and deleting content from your drawing.
Dimension Style Manager
The Dimension Style Manager in AutoCAD is like a toolbox that helps you create and change how measurements look in your drawings. These measurements show distances, like how long or tall something is. You can even make new styles for your measurements so they look just the way you want.
On top of that, it will also allow you to change things like the color, thickness of lines, and how long the lines are with ease. Given the frequency that you will need to perform such tasks in most projects, you can already get a sense of how much of a time saver this can be.
You can see from the video above just how easy it is to navigate to the dimension style manager through the use of commands.
If you scout any online forum about the best commands out there, you will likely find a case being made for the Dimension Style Manager for its capacity to create and store personalized dimension styles.
You will find an array of comments on how the command makes your drawings clear and helps make sure they follow all the important guidelines while also making you more efficient and helping you uphold a polished aesthetic in your designs.
Layer
If you have invested in any online courses or stumbled across any learning resources for AutoCAD, then you will likely have seen plenty about the importance of layers.
The attention that layers get should only point to their importance in the design process. Essentially they play a role in organizing elements within a drawing enabling efficient management of the different components you decide to include in your work.
Layers are a command that grows in importance as you progress and begin dealing with more complex drawings as you will need to organize the components so you can navigate your work more efficiently.
If you want to see for yourself, then have a go at establishing a layer with a simple click of the New Layer button and entering a descriptive name.
If you don’t want it to be annoying you on your screen all of the time you can hit the light bulb icon to toggle the visibility of objects on the selected layer on or off.
By getting adept at Autodesk shortcuts, you'll drastically improve your design efficiency.
Draft Settings
While many of the commands in AutoCAD focus on saving you time and making you more efficient when accessing the various features, there are some that can impact the accuracy and precision of your drawings.
The draft setting is one such command that provides a range of settings to improve whatever project you find yourself working on.
If you want to have a go at using the command on your next project or you just want to play around with it, you can bring up the status bar by entering +SETTINGS on the command line.
Right away you will find a number of categories that govern aspects of your drawing, many of which can be customized according to your requirements and preferences!
Discover the essential building blocks of AutoCAD in our detailed exploration of its basics.
Hatching
If you are looking for a command that will help give your drawing a more complete look, then you are going to love this Hatching feature.
This tool allows you to fill enclosed areas with colors, patterns or gradients which really comes in handy when you want to represent materials, surfaces or sections in your drawings.
If this sounds like something you want to try out the next time you launch AutoCAD on your computer, then all you have to do is type "HATCH" in the command line.
To get started, simply select an enclosed area within your drawing by clicking inside it or choosing the edges.
Here you can pick from predefined hatch patterns, opt for a solid fill, or even adjust the scale of the pattern to control its density and visibility. On top of that, you can also tweak the transparency level and angle of the hatch to match your preferences.
So what are you waiting for, get out the command prompt and start practicing how to implement this tool right away!
Unit
As the name might suggest, the unit command is one of the less glamorous tools, yet nonetheless an essential function that allows you to adjust and handle the measurement units for your drawings.
It ensures that your drawings accurately reflect real-world measurements and comply with industry norms, making the design process hassle-free.
You can see from the video above the amount of time that can be saved by utilizing the command prompt to select unit measurements as opposed to finding it in the toolbar each time.
Selecting the right unit type is vital as it dictates how measurements appear and are understood in your drawings.
This is important for everyone who is involved in the project, so if you tend to collaborate with others in your work, then you will definitely want to take note of this one!
Line
If you think about the elements of any drawing in their most basic form, they come down to a series of geometric shapes of some description. Given the prevalence of line drawing in any AutoCAD project, you could definitely say that we save the best or at least the most effective until the last.
The Line tool enables users to sketch line segments by indicating two points or inputting coordinate values. This function serves as the foundation for drawing just about any structure and design that you can encounter on the software.
The command will give you the option to manually enter coordinates or select the point yourself. Once you have done that, a rubber band line will appear, allowing you to visualize the line's position before finalizing it. So you won't have to worry about constantly adding and removing the element until you have it in the right place.
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You can also draw construction lines that will help you mark measurements when creating an object, and you can go right ahead and delete them once they have served their purpose.
Remove chance from the learning process; by incorporating a mix of effective learning materials, you can know the ins and outs of the software in no time!
Learn From an AutoCAD Tutor with Superprof
Studying with a Superprof AutoCAD tutor can really boost your grasp of the software and your skills. Getting guidance allows you to concentrate on areas where you need to improve, making sure that your learning is productive and successful.
So, if any of the commands that we have covered in this article have you scratching your head, you can have your queries answered and gain feedback instantly.
Having a tutor lets you advance at your own pace, dedicating more time to the areas that you find challenging and less time covering concepts that you are strong at.
Superprof tutors go a step further and can even provide hands-on practice with real world projects, which is crucial for mastering the software.
All you need to do to get started is head over to the home page and search for tutors in your area. You can then filter your search according to your preferences, select a tutor and reach out to them to schedule a lesson. It’s really as easy as a few clicks to get your learning off the ground.
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