Datasheet

Working With AutoCAD
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Note
By default, in Windows XP, the Automatic Save file is stored in C:\Documents and Settings\User
Name\Local Settings\Temp\. You can find the exact location for your system by typing Savefile-
path↵ at the Command prompt. This file location is often set as a hidden folder, so you may need to
set up Windows Explorer to display hidden folders before you can get to the Automatic Save file. See
Appendix A for information on how to do this.
Making Changes
You’ll frequently make changes to your drawings. One of AutoCAD’s primary advantages is the
ease with which you can make changes. The following exercise shows you a typical sequence of
operations involved in changing a drawing:
1. Use the File  Save As Menu Browser option to save the current Clip.d wg file under the
name MyFirst. For convenience, you can save your files in the My Documents folder.
2. From the Home tab’s Modify panel, click the Erase tool (the one with a pencil eraser
touching paper). This activates the Erase command.
Notice that the cursor has turned into a small square. This square is called the pickbox.
You also see Select objects: in the Command window and the Dynamic Input display.
This message helps remind new users what to do.
3. Move the pickbox over the drawing, placing it on various parts of the clip. Don’t click
anything yet. Notice that as you hover your cursor over objects with the pickbox, they’re
highlighted. This helps you see the objects that the pickbox is likely to select should you
click the left mouse button.
4. Place the pickbox on the crosshatch pattern of the clip (see Figure 1.17), and click. The
crosshatch changes in appearance from a dark highlight to a light highlight. The pick-
box and the Select objects: prompt remain, indicating that you can continue to select
objects.
5. Press ↵. The crosshatch disappears. You’ve just erased a part of the drawing.
In this exercise, you first issued the Erase command and then you selected an object by using
a pickbox to click it. The pickbox tells you that you must select items on the screen, and it shows
you what you’re about to select by highlighting objects as you hover the cursor over them. Once
you’ve clicked an object or a set of objects, press ↵ to move on to the next step. This sequence of
steps is common to many of the commands you’ll work with in AutoCAD (see Figure 1.17).
Note
You can also click an object or a set of objects and then press the Delete key without using the
Erase tool.
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