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AutoCAD 2011 Drawing Setup Roadmap

Drawing setup in AutoCAD 2011 can seem a little complicated before you get used to it. The following

table lists ten fundamental AutoCAD setup commands in the order you probably use them, explains what they

do, and tells you where to find them on the classic pull-down menu system as well as on the Ribbon and

Application Menu. If youd rather type than click, you can enter the full command name or its alias or keyboard

shortcut (where available shown in parentheses).

Ribbon / Application Menu Classic Menu Command Description

Model Space

1. Application

menuNewDrawing

FileNew NEW (Ctrl+N) Creates a new

drawing based on a

template drawing

(DWT file)

2. Application menuDrawing

UtilitiesUnits

FormatUnits UNITS (UN) Specifies linear and

angular units

3. None FormatDrawing Limits LIMITS Specifies working

area

4. View tabNavigate

panelZoom drop-down

flyoutExtents

ViewZoomExtents ZOOM (Z),

Extents

Zooms to drawing

extents

5. None ToolsDrafting Settings DSETTINGS (DS) Specifies snap and

grid spacings

6. Home tabProperties panel

Linetype drop-

downOtherShow

DetailsGlobal Scale Factor

Format LinetypeShow

DetailsGlobal Scale Factor

LTSCALE (LTS) Sets linetype scale

7. Home tabAnnotation

slideout Dimension Style

FormatDimension Style DIMSTYLE (D) Sets dimension style

8. Application menuDrawing

UtilitiesDrawing Properties

FileDrawing Properties DWGPROPS Enters drawing

informational

properties

Paper Space

9. None ToolsWizardsCreate

Layout

LAYOUTWIZARD Creates a paper

space layout

10. Application MenuSave FileSave QSAVE (Ctrl+S) Saves the drawing

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AutoCAD 2011s Top Keyboard Shortcuts

Over AutoCADs 25-year existence, the one input method thats remained constant is typing into the

command line. Most experienced AutoCAD users find typing command aliases and entering Ctrl+key

combinations to be the most efficient way of communicating with AutoCAD and if you can find your way

around a keyboard, youll probably find the same thing. The following table lists useful keyboard shortcuts.

Keyboard Shortcut Command Purpose

Ctrl+S QSAVE Saves the drawing

Ctrl+O OPEN Displays the Select File dialog box

Ctrl+P PLOT Displays the Plot dialog box

Ctrl+Tab None Switches to the next open drawing

Ctrl+PgUp/Ctrl+PgDn None Switches to the previous/next tab in the current drawing

F1 HELP Displays AutoCADs Help in a Web browser window

F2 TEXTSCR Toggles the AutoCAD Text Window on and off

F3 OSNAP Toggles running object snap mode on and off

F7 GRID Toggles grid mode on and off

F8 ORTHO Toggles ortho mode on and off

F9 SNAP Toggles snap mode on and off

F10 POLAR Toggles polar mode on and off

F11 None Toggles object snap tracking on and off

F12 DYNMODE Toggles dynamic input mode on and off

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AutoCAD 2011's Drawing Scale and Limits Chart: Feet and Inches

It's not a bad idea to set limits for your AutoCAD 2011 drawing. 'Limits in AutoCAD represent the rectangular

working area that you'll draw in, which usually corresponds to the paper size. Setting limits correctly lets you

display the drawing grid over your working area, use ZOOM All to display that working area, and plot your

working area from model space. The following table sets out the dimensions in whole feet or feet and inches

of work areas for different paper sizes at different drawing scales.

Drawing Scale 8-1/2" x 11" 11" x 17" 24" x 36" 30" x 42" 36" x 48"

1/16" = 1'0" 136' x 176' 176' x 272' 384' x 576' 480' x 672' 576' x 768'

1/8" = 1'0" 68' x 88' 88' x 136' 192' x 288' 240' x 336' 288' x 384'

1/4" = 1'0" 34' x 44' 44' x 68' 96' x 144' 120' x 168' 144' x 192'

1/2" = 1'0" 17' x 22' 22' x 34' 48' x 72' 60' x 84' 72' x 96'

3/4" = 1'0" 11'4" x 14'8" 14'8" x 22'8" 32' x 48' 40' x 56' 48' x 64'

1" = 1'0" 8'6" x 11' 11' x 17' 24' x 36' 30' x 42' 36' x 48'

1-1/2" = 1'0" 5'8" x 7'4" 7'4" x 11'4" 16' x 24' 20' x 28' 24' x 32'

3" = 1'0" 2'10" x 3'8" 3'8" x 5'8" 8' x 12' 10' x 14' 12' x 16'

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AutoCAD 2011s Drawing Scale and Limits Charts: Millimeters

Its not a bad idea to set limits for your AutoCAD drawing. The limits represent the rectangular working area

that youll draw in, which usually corresponds to the paper size. Setting AutoCAD's limits correctly lets you

display the drawing grid over your working area, use ZOOM All to display that working area, and plot your

working area from model space. The following table sets out the dimensions in millimeters of work areas for

different paper sizes at different drawing scales.

Drawing Scale 210 x

297 mmA4

297 x

420 mmA3

420 x

594 mmA2

594 x

841 mmA1

841 x

1,189 mmA0

1:200 42,000 x

59,400 mm

59,400 x

84,000 mm

84,000 x

118,800 mm

118,800 x

168,200 mm

168,200 x

237,800 mm

1:100 21,000 x

29,700 mm

29,700 x

42,000 mm

42,000 x

59,400 mm

59,400 x

84,100 mm

84,100 x

118,900 mm

1:50 10,500 x

14,850 mm

14,850 x

21,000 mm

21,000 x

29,700 mm

29,700 x

42,050 mm

42,050 x

59,450 mm

1:20 4,200 x

5,940 mm

5,940 x

8,400 mm

8,400 x

11,880 mm

11,880 x

16,820 mm

16,820 x

23,780 mm

1:10 2,100 x

2,970 mm

2,970 x

4,200 mm

4,200 x

5,940 mm

5,940 x

8,410 mm

8,410 x

11,890 mm

1:5 1,050 x

1,485 mm

1,485 x

2,100 mm

2,100 x

2,970 mm

2,970 x

4,205 mm

4,205 x

5,945 mm