Datasheet

used in 3D drawings. The Dynamic Input button is an on/off toggle that activates or
suppresses the dynamic display of information next to the crosshair cursor when
it’s in the drawing area. For now, keep it in the on (pushed) mode. The Show/Hide
Lineweight button toggles the display of lineweights (discussed in Chapter 14) in
the drawing area. When active, the Quick Properties tool displays the most com-
mon properties for the selected object(s) in a dialog box where they can be edited. If
you prefer text-based buttons rather than icons, you can right-click on any of the
tools mentioned here and uncheck the Use Icons option.
At the right side of the status bar are tools for controlling the appear-
ance of annotation objects in AutoCAD, tools for navigating in the draw-
ing area and controlling the display, and tools to control access to other
drawings or features within the current drawing. The padlock icon controls
which types of toolbars and windows are locked in their current positions on
the screen. Leave it in the unlocked mode for now.
To conclude this quick introduction to the various parts of the graphics window, I
need to mention a couple of items that might be visible on your screen. You might
have scroll bars below and to the right of the drawing area; although these can be
useful, they can take up precious space in the drawing area. They won’t be of any use
while working your way through this book, so I suggest you remove them for now.
To remove these features temporarily, follow these steps:
1. Enter options to open the Options dialog box (shown in Figure 1.7). It
has 10 tabs (LT has only 8) across the top that act like tabs on file folders.
FIGURE 1.7: The Options dialog box
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD
10
260586c01.qxd 3/27/08 3:03 PM Page 10