Datasheet

TAKING A GUIDED TOUR

The menu bar at the top of the drawing area (as shown in Figure 1.3) includes drop-down menus

from which you select commands in a typical Windows fashion. The toolbars and Dashboard pro-

vide a variety of commands through tool buttons and drop-down lists.

Figure 1.3

The menu bar, the

Workspaces toolbar,

and the Standard

Annotation toolbar.

LT users may see a

floating Workspaces

toolbar instead of the

docked version shown

at far right.

The drawing area occupies most of the screen. Everything you draw appears in this area. As you

move your mouse around, crosshairs appear to move within the drawing area. This is the drawing

cursor that lets you point to locations in the drawing area.

At the bottom of the drawing area is a set of tabs. These tabs give you access to the Layout views

of your drawing. These views let you lay out your drawing as in a desktop publishing program.

You’ll learn about the Layout tabs in Chapter 8. The arrows to the left of the tabs let you navigate

the tabs when there are more tabs than can fit in the AutoCAD window.

The Command window, located just below the Layout tabs, gives you feedback about AutoCAD’s

commands as you use them. You can move and resize this window just as you move and resize tool-

bars. By default, the Command window is in its docked position, as shown in Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.4

The Command win-

dow and the status bar

Workspaces toolbar Standard Annotation toolbar Communication Center

bar

Dashboard

(not shown)

Turning on the Tabs

If you don’t see the tabs, don’t worry. AutoCAD can be set up to hide the tabs, but you can easily restore them

to view. To turn them on, locate the Model tool in the status bar at the bottom of the AutoCAD window.

Right-click the Model tool, and then select Display Layout and Model Tabs. The tabs will appear just

below the drawing area. To hide the tabs, right-click any tab, and select Hide Layout and Model Tabs.

USC icon

Command prompt Command window

Coordinate readout Status bar

3738x.book Page 7 Monday, June 25, 2007 11:37 PM