Datasheet

The UCS icon

Notice the symbol with two arrows in the drawing area in Figure 1.2. This symbol is called the User

Coordinate System (UCS) icon. The arrows point to the positive directions of the X and Y axes to help you

keep your bearings. (In a 3D environment, you see a Z axis as well.) You can change the look of this icon,

and turn it on and off, as I explain in Chapter 8.

The crosshairs

In the drawing area of Figure 1.2, notice the intersecting lines with a small box at their intersection. The

small box is called the pickbox because it helps you to select, or pick, objects. The lines are called crosshairs.

They show you the location of the mouse cursor in relation to other objects in your drawing.

As you move your mouse around, the pickbox and crosshairs move with your mouse. At the bottom of your

screen, at the left end of the status bar (described later), you can see the X,Y, coordinates change as you

move your mouse.

The menus and toolbars

At the top of your screen is the title bar, and directly beneath the title bar is a menu bar. Below that are one

or two rows of toolbars. In addition, on the right is the Dashboard, which you use to give AutoCAD or

AutoCAD LT commands to draw, edit, display information, and so on. You also use the Dashboard to

change settings. I explain how to work with toolbars and the Dashboard in Chapter 3.

The AutoCAD Classic and AutoCAD LT Classic workspaces do not show the Dashboard;

instead, you see three additional toolbars — the Draw, Modify, and Draw Order toolbars —

which are usually docked at the left and right sides of the screen. From the Workspaces toolbar drop-down

list, try switching between the 2D Drafting & Annotation workspace and the AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT

Classic workspace to see which one you prefer. In Appendix A, I explain how to customize workspaces.

In the 2D Draw control panel (section) of the Dashboard or on the Draw toolbar, move the mouse cursor over

the first button. You should see a tooltip that says Line, as shown in Figure 1.3. Also notice the status bar

when the cursor is over the button on the toolbar, it tells you that this button creates straight-line segments.

You use buttons on a toolbar or control panel to execute commands. For example, to draw a line, you click

the Line button on the Draw toolbar. You get some practice drawing lines in the exercise that follows.

FIGURE 1.3

Moving the cursor over the Line button displays a tooltip.

If you inadvertently start a command that you don’t want to use, press Esc.

Because you can customize the menus, toolbars, and the Dashboard to suit your needs, your screen may

appear somewhat different. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT provide many more toolbars that you can display

when you need them. Some examples of toolbars are Dimension, View, and Zoom. You learn about these,

and more, later in this book.

NOTE

AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Basics

Part I

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