Datasheet

Starting Commands  13

The command window is a little like a chat window when you’re online. You “chat” with

AutoCAD by responding to messages that appear in the command line. When AutoCAD

asks for speciﬁc data, the command line allows you to enter data using the keyboard. It is

also an area that provides information about your drawing when you request it.

“CHATTING” WITH AUTOCAD

AutoCAD communicates its needs to you in messages in the command line. These messages

often tell you what to do next or oﬀer options, usually shown in square brackets. Commands

often display a series of messages, which you answer to complete the command. If you aren’t

sure what to do, check the command line for clues.

As an additional aid, you can right-click to display a context menu. If

you are in the middle of a command, this menu provides a list of options

speciﬁcally related to that command. For example, if you right-click

before selecting the ﬁrst point for the Rectangle command, a menu

appears, oﬀering the same options that are listed at the command

prompt, plus some additional options.

Note that AutoCAD allows you to customize the right mouse button,

and many users will set up this button as an Enter key. This is a holdover

from the very earliest versions of AutoCAD, and many users still prefer it

to the context menu function.

Starting Commands

Working with commands is fairly straightforward, but you have a few options in

AutoCAD that you won’t ﬁnd in other Windows programs. You can use tools in the

Ribbon to start a command with a simple click and then use the command window to

get feedback from AutoCAD. Try the following to see ﬁrsthand how this works:

1. Click the Dynamic Input tool in the status bar to turn off Dynamic Input display

mode. When it is off, it is gray. You’ll start your exploration of commands with this

feature turned off so you can get a clear view of your

activity. You’ll get a chance to try the Dynamic Input

feature in later chapters, starting with Chapter 2.

2. Click the Rectangle tool in the Draw panel. Notice that the command line at the bot-

tom of the window now shows the following prompt:

Specify first corner point or [Chamfer/Elevation/Fillet/Thickness/Width]:

AutoCAD is asking you to select the ﬁrst corner for the rectangle, and also, in brack-

ets, it is offering a few options that you can take advantage of at this point in the com-

mand. Don’t worry about those options right now. You’ll have an opportunity to

learn about command options in Chapter 2.

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