Datasheet

Understanding the AutoCAD Window  9
Tool name
Description/tutorial
Keyboard command equivalent
Context-sensitive help
Finding Hidden Panels and Tools
In the “Getting Familiar with the Drawing Area” section, you’ll start to work in the
drawing area by drawing some lines. Before you do that, though, take a moment to exam-
ine the left part of the Ribbon, where the Draw panel of the Ribbon resides. You will be
instructed to use the tools in this Ribbon panel frequently throughout this book, so it
will be helpful for you to get a feel for their arrangement and what they contain.
Besides the visible tools, a few tools are hidden from view. Click the Blocks and
Reference tab just above the Ribbon. The row of Ribbon panels changes to a new set of
panels. Click the Home tab above the Ribbon to return to the previous set of panels.
As you work through exercises in this book, I’ll abbreviate the name of the Ribbon tabs to
simplify the instructions. For example, I’ll say “On the Home tab’s Draw panel” to refer to the
Draw panel on the Home tab of the Ribbon.
If you see a triangle next to the title on the
Ribbon panel title bar, you can expand the panel
to reveal more tools. To do this, click the panel
title bar (Figure 1.9). The panel will expand
downward. Once you click in the drawing area,
the panel returns to its normal view. If you want
to lock the expanded panel so that it stays open,
click the pushpin icon on the left side of the
expanded panel’s title bar.
From now on, when you see the term expanded panel, you should expand the Ribbon panel
by clicking the panel’s title bar.
Figure 1.8
A tooltip showing
the name of the
tool, a brief tutorial-
like graphic, and
the command
name associated
with the tool
Figure 1.9
Expanding a
Ribbon panel
Click the title bar to expand the panel.
Pushpin icon
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