Datasheet

8
CHAPTER 1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE
Below the Command window is the status bar (see Figure 1.4). The status bar gives you infor-
mation at a glance about the state of the drawing. For example, the coordinate readout toward the
far left of the status bar tells you the location of your cursor.
Picking Points in the Drawing Area
Now that you’ve seen the general layout of AutoCAD, try using the coordinate readout and the
drawing cursor to get a sense of how the parts of the AutoCAD screen work together:
1.
Move the cursor around in the drawing area. As you move it, notice how the coordinate read-
out changes to tell you the cursor’s location. It shows the coordinates in an X, Y, Z format.
2. Place the cursor in the middle of the drawing area, and click the left mouse button. Move the
cursor, and a rectangle follows. This is a window selection; you’ll learn more about this win-
dow in Chapter 2. You also see a coordinate readout following the cursor and a message ask-
ing you to S pecify opposite corner: . This display at the cursor is called the dynamic input .
You’ll learn more about it a little later in this chapter.
TIP
If you don’t see the dynamic input display, click the button labeled DYN in the status bar to
turn it on.
3. Move the cursor a bit in any direction; then, click the left mouse button again. Notice that the
window selection disappears, as does the dynamic input display.
4.
Try picking several more points in the drawing area. Notice that as you click the mouse, you
alternately start and end a window selection.
If you happen to click the right mouse button, a shortcut menu appears. A right-click frequently
opens a menu containing options that are context sensitive. This means the contents of the shortcut
menu depend on the location where you right-click as well as the command that is active at the time
of your right-click. If there are no appropriate options at the time of the right-click, AutoCAD treats
the right-click as an ↵ . You’ll learn more about these options as you progress through the book. For
now, if you happen to open this menu by accident, press the Esc key to close it.
The UCS Icon
In the lower-left corner of the drawing area, you see an L-shaped arrow. This is the User Coordinate
System (UCS) icon, which tells you your orientation in the drawing. This icon becomes helpful as
you start to work with complex 2D drawings and 3D models. The X and Y arrows indicate the X and
Y axes of your drawing. The little square at the base of the arrows tells you that you’re in what is
called the World Coordinate System. Chapter 21 discusses this icon in detail. For now, you can use it
as a reference to tell you the direction of the axes.
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