The UCS icon appears in many different forms, only a few of which are shown below. You may notice, looking at the icons below, that they are all subtly different. Understanding the meaning of these subtle differences can help you to orientate yourself with respect to the current co-ordinate system and in particular, to know where the co-ordinate system origin is located.

submitted: 5 years and 3760 days ago

This tutorial describes the options and commands available for dimensioning drawings and how to use them. The correct use of AutoCADs dimension tools is the key to producing clear and concise measured drawings.

submitted: 5 years and 3760 days ago

This tutorial describes what UCSs are, why we need them and how to use them. The correct use of UCSs with AutoCAD is the key to producing good 3D models and they can also help with 2D work.

submitted: 5 years and 3760 days ago

The selection tools described in the Object Selection tutorial are fine if you only need to pick a few objects at a time or if you can easily see the objects you want to select. Sometimes though, your selection requirements may not be quite so simple. AutoCAD enables you to create selection sets by building database style queries that can make complex selections really quick and accurate. This tutorial describes the use of AutoCAD's advanced selection tools and how the selection options can be configured for better selection efficiency.

submitted: 5 years and 3760 days ago

Every AutoCAD object, such as a line or a circle has properties. Some properties such as Colour, Linetype and Layer are common to all objects. Some objects have properties which are specific to themselves. Take time to work through this tutorial, it is particularly important to get to grips with object properties since it can make the difference between a really good AutoCAD drawing and a really terrible one.

submitted: 5 years and 3760 days ago

The Object Snaps (Osnaps for short) are drawing aids which are used in conjunction with other commands to help you draw accurately. Osnaps allow you to snap onto a specific object location when you are picking a point. For example, using Osnaps you can accurately pick the end point of a line or the center of a circle. Osnaps in AutoCAD are so important that you cannot draw accurately without them. For this reason, you must develop a good understanding of what the Osnaps are and how they work.

This tutorial describes the use of all the osnaps.

submitted: 5 years and 3760 days ago

A good understanding of how co-ordinates work in AutoCAD is absolutely crucial if you are to make the best use of the program. If you are not familiar with co-ordinates and co-ordinate systems, take some time to familiarize yourself with the basic concepts.

submitted: 5 years and 3760 days ago

Among the most important concepts that newcomers to AutoCAD need to get to grips with are those of drawing scale and drawing units. You cannot start creating sensible drawings with AutoCAD until you are familiar with scale, units and the commands you use to control them. This tutorial discusses these concepts, starting with the two most commonly asked questions in this subject area.

submitted: 5 years and 3760 days ago

Drawing with AutoCAD is really just like drawing on a drawing board. Most newcommers to Computer Aided Design assume that they will need to learn how to draw all over again. In fact, many of the drawing aids that AutoCAD provides are analagous to traditional drafting tools. Just as you have a parallel motion and set squares to help you draw horizontal and vertical lines on a drawing board, AutoCAD has similar drawing aids which can help you to draw horizontal and vertical lines on a computer. This means that in many respects, the drawing techniques are very similar. If you ever get stuck, think how you would complete a task on a drawing board and then look for a similar way to do it with AutoCAD.

submitted: 5 years and 3760 days ago

Direct distance entry is one of those AutoCAD features that is often overlooked. This is rather unfortunate because it can be extremely useful and an amazing time-saver. Basically, direct distance entry enables you to draw an object, such as a line, by pointing in a particular direction with the cursor and entering a distance at the command line.

submitted: 5 years and 3760 days ago