Datasheet
Panning and Zooming to Adjust Your View 19
WHEN YOU NEED TO UNDO
The AutoCAD User Group International (AUGI) has conducted a survey to identify the most
commonly used features in AutoCAD. The group found that the Undo feature and the Esc
key were at the top of the list. Everyone makes mistakes, and it would be impossible to get
any work done if it weren’t for these two features. But Undo and the Esc key are just two of
a set of features you can use to reverse something you have done. If you find you’ve done
something unintentionally, you can use the following options to get out of trouble:
Backspace If you make a typing error, press the Backspace key to back up to your error, and
then reenter your command or response.
Esc When you need to exit a command or a dialog box quickly, without making changes,
just press the Esc key in the upper-left corner of your keyboard.
Undo If you accidentally change something in the drawing and want to reverse that change,
click the Undo tool (the left-pointing curved arrow) in the Quick Access toolbar. You can also
enter U↵ at the command prompt. Each time you do this, AutoCAD undoes one operation at
a time, in reverse order. The last command performed is undone first, then the next-to-last
command, and so on. The prompt displays the name of the command being undone, and
the drawing reverts to its state before that command. If you need, you can undo everything
back to the beginning of an editing session.
Redo If you accidentally undo one too many commands, you can redo the last undone com-
mand by clicking the Redo tool (the right-pointing curved arrow) on the Quick Access tool-
bar. Or enter Redo↵.
Panning and Zooming to Adjust Your View
One of the greatest features of AutoCAD is its ability to draw accurately through a wide
range of scales. For example, you can draw a football field, zoom into a blade of grass,
and draw its cell structure. With such a broad range of views to work with, you need to be
familiar with AutoCAD’s view features. The Zoom and Pan commands are the most fre-
quently used view features, so you’ll want to become familiar with them right away.
If you have a typical mouse with a scroll wheel, you can use the wheel to zoom in and
out of your drawing view. You can also use it to pan across your drawing. To zoom, scroll
the wheel. To pan, click and drag the scroll wheel. You can obtain just about any view you
need by using this method. You’ll also want to know about several other view-related tools.
If you have a mouse that uses special drivers, you might not be able to use the wheel to con-
trol pans and zooms.
38671c01.indd 19 7/8/09 12:00:58 AM