Datasheet

Understanding the AutoCAD Window  11
While viewing the drawing list, you can hover your cursor
over a drawing name to view a thumbnail of the drawing. You
can also click the File View tool above the list to change the
list from names to images (Figure 1.13).
Getting Familiar with the Drawing Area
As you might imagine, the drawing area in the middle of the
AutoCAD window is the space where you’ll be spending a
lot of time. It pays to get a feel for how it behaves early on.
As your introduction to the drawing area, try the following
exercise:
1. Move the cursor around in the drawing area. As you
move the cursor, notice that the coordinate readout in
the status bar gives the X and Y coordinates and adds the
Z coordinate.
2. Click in the middle of the drawing area. You have just selected a point. Move the cur-
sor, and a rectangle follows. This is a selection window; if any objects appear in the
drawing area, you can select them for editing. A coordinate display appears at the
cursor, showing your coordinates in an X, Y format. Also notice the words Specify
opposite corner in the Dynamic Input display. This tells you that you have started a
selection window and you need to select the opposite corner for the window.
3. Move the cursor a bit in any direction; then click again. Notice that the selection
window disappears. Had there been objects within the selection window, they would
be selected. This is similar to the way the cursor behaves on the Windows Desktop;
however, in Windows, you have to drag the cursor to create a selection window.
4. Try selecting several more points in the drawing area. Notice that as you click, you
alternately start and end a selection window.
As you click the drawing area, you might notice that, depending on whether you click
to the right or to the left of the preceding point, the selection window displays a different
color. If you click from left to right, the selection window appears blue. From right to left,
it’s green. These colors indicate a different mode of selection, which you’ll learn about in
Chapter 4.
If you right-click, a context menu appears. Just as with most other Windows applica-
tions, a right-click frequently opens a menu that contains options that are context sensi-
tive. This means that the contents of the context menu depend on where you right-click
as well as on the command that is active at the time of your right-click. 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.
Figure 1.13
Changing the list
from names to
Large Images
38671c01.indd 11 7/8/09 12:00:57 AM