Datasheet

Understanding the AutoCAD Window  15
In the Menu Browser, you’ll see many of the standard Windows menu options, such as
File, Edit, Window, and Help, as well as a few that are specific to AutoCAD.
Another Menu Browser feature is the command description that appears as a tooltip
whenever you hover over a menu option. These descriptions often give enough detailed
information to get you started using the option. Try the following to see the tooltips
firsthand:
1. Open the Menu Browser, and click Modify. The list of items that appears includes the
commands and settings that let you control the way AutoCAD displays your drawings.
2. Move the cursor down the list of menu items. As you highlight each item, notice
that a tooltip appears. These tooltips help you choose the menu option you need and
in many cases give a kind of mini-tutorial on how to use the option. These tooltips
are the same as the ones you see with the Ribbon panel tools. Near the bottom of
the tooltip, you’ll see a single word in capital letters. This is the keyboard command
equivalent to the highlighted option in the menu (shown earlier in Figure 1.6). If you
prefer, you can actually enter these keyboard commands to start the tool or menu
item you have highlighted. You don’t have to memorize these command names, but
knowing them will help you later if you want to customize AutoCAD.
3. Some of the menu items won’t show a tooltip but will have arrows to their left. This
means the menu option has additional choices. For instance, click the Object option,
and you’ll see the list of options expand below the Object option. Click the Object
option again, and the list closes.
Opening Dialog Boxes
You might have noticed that other menu options are followed by an ellipsis (…). This
indicates that the option displays a dialog box, as the following exercise demonstrates:
1. Click the Tools option in the Menu Browser.
2. Click the Options item at the bottom of the
menu to open the dialog box (you might have
to use the scroll bar to the right of the Menu
Browser to get to the bottom of the list).
3. After you’ve taken a look at the Options dia-
log box, close it by clicking Cancel.
The Options dialog box is like the Preferences
dialog box in other programs. In it, you can find
most of the general settings that affect AutoCAD’s
behavior. Numerous settings are divided into
tabs across the top of the dialog box. The Options
dialog box is one of many dialog boxes available
through the menu bar.
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