Datasheet

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CHAPTER 1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE
Figure 1.6
After you’ve selected
the first point of the
rectangle, you see
a rectangle follow the
motion of your mouse.
Communicating with the Command Window and Dynamic Input Display
AutoCAD is the perfect servant: It does everything you tell it to, and no more. You communicate
with AutoCAD by using the drop-down menus and the toolbars. These devices invoke AutoCAD
commands. A command is a single-word instruction you give to AutoCAD, telling it to do some-
thing, such as draw a line (the Line tool in the Draw toolbar) or erase an object (the Erase tool in the
Modify toolbar). Whenever you invoke a command, by either typing it or selecting a menu or tool-
bar item, AutoCAD responds by presenting messages to you in the Command window and the
dynamic input display or by displaying a dialog box.
The messages in the Command window often tell you what to do next, or they display a list of options,
usually shown in square brackets. A single command often presents a series of messages, which you
answer to complete the command. These messages serve as an aid to new users who need a little help.
If you ever get lost while using a command or forget what you’re supposed to do, look at the Command
window for clues. As you become more comfortable with AutoCAD, you’ll find that you won’t need to
refer to these messages as frequently.
As an additional aid, you can right-click to display a context-sensitive shortcut menu. If you’re in the
middle of a command, this menu displays a list of options specifically related to that command. For
example, if you right-click your mouse before picking the first point for the rectangle command in the
previous exercise, a menu opens, displaying the same options that are listed in the Command prompt
plus some additional options.
Finally, the dynamic input display allows you to enter dimensional data of objects as you draw them.
Besides echoing the command-line messages, the dynamic input display shows the coordinates and
angles of objects you’re drawing and editing. As you enter coordinate or angle values through the key-
board, they appear in the dynamic input display. If you’re used to earlier versions of AutoCAD, you can
easily turn off the dynamic input display by clicking the DYN button in the status bar. When the
dynamic input display is turned off, your keyboard input appears in the Command window.
3738x.book Page 12 Monday, June 25, 2007 11:37 PM