Datasheet

10 Chapter 1: Getting Familiar with AutoCAD
more information on how to use the tool (see Figure 1.6). As a new user, you’ll find these
tooltips very helpful.
Throughout the book, when I ask you to select a tool from the Ribbon or from a tool-
bar, I’ll use the name shown in the tooltip. For example, if you hover your cursor over
any icon tool in the Ribbon, you’ll see the name of the tool at the top of the tooltip that
appears (as shown in Figure 1.6).
In most cases, you’ll be able to guess what each tool does by looking at its icon. The
icon with an arc in the Draw panel of the Ribbon, for instance, indicates that the tool
draws arcs; the one with the circle shows that the tool draws circles; and so on. But for
further clarification, the tooltip gives you the name of the tool.
Finding Hidden Panels and Tools
In the next section, you’ll start to work in the drawing area by drawing some lines. Before
you do that, though, take a moment to examine the left part of the Ribbon, where the
Draw panel of the Ribbon resides. You will be instructed to use the tools in this Ribbon
panel frequently throughout this book, so it will be helpful for you to get a feel for their
arrangement and what they contain.
Besides the visible tools, a few tools are hidden from view. Click the Blocks and Refer-
ence tab just above the Ribbon. The row of Ribbon panels changes to a new set of panels.
Click the Home tab above the Ribbon to return to the previous set of panels.
As you work through exercises in this book, I’ll abbreviate the name of the Ribbon tabs to
simplify the instructions. For example, I’ll say “On the Home tab’s Draw panel” to refer to the
Draw panel on the Home tab of the Ribbon.
Figure 1.6
A tooltip showing
the name of
the tool, a brief
tutorial-like graphic,
and the command
name associated
with the tool
Context-sensitive help
Tool name
Description/tutorial
Keyboard command equivalent
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