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CHAPTER 1 GETTING FAMILIAR WITH AUTOCAD
6. Move the cursor so that it points vertically from the center of the arc. You’ll see the Polar
Tracking vector snap to a vertical position as shown in Figure 1.11.
7. Click any location with the Polar Tracking vector in the vertical position. The arc is now
fixed in place.
As you can see, AutoCAD has a distinct structure in its prompt messages. You first issue a com-
mand, which in turn presents options in the form of a prompt. Depending on the option you select,
you get another set of options or you are prompted to take some action, such as selecting a point,
selecting objects, or entering a value. The prompts offer a great deal of help “prompting” you to
take an action.
Getting Help
AutoCAD provides a good set of help options that can answer most of the questions you might
have while working on a drawing. If you’re stuck with an AutoCAD problem, give the AutoCAD
help options a try.
To get more familiar with the AutoCAD Help window, try the following:
1. Choose Help  Help from the menu or press F1 to open the AutoCAD 2007 Help window.
2. Click the Contents tab, which contains a table of contents. The other two tabs—Index,
Search—provide assistance in finding specific topics.
3. Scan down the screen until you see the topic Command Reference, and double-click it. Both
panels of the Help window change to show more topics.
4. In the panel on the right, click the item labeled C just to the right of the Command listing. The
panel expands to display a list of command names that start with the letter C.
5. Look down the list and click the word Copy. A description of the Copy command appears in
the panel to the right.
You also have the Concepts, Procedures, and Commands tabs along the top of the panel on the
right. These options provide more detailed information on the use of the selected item. If you want
to back up through the steps you have just taken, click the Back button on the toolbar.
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