Master AutoCAD Faster: The Most Frequently Used Commands

 

Whether you are a civil engineer, an architect, or a student just starting your drafting journey, using the mouse to click icons is the ultimate productivity killer. True AutoCAD mastery lies in your left hand—resting right over your keyboard.

​Memorizing the right command aliases (shortcuts) can easily double your drafting speed. Here is a breakdown of the most frequently used AutoCAD commands that every professional uses daily.

Here are some CAD commands to ease your drawings work.

A

• ARC (A): Creates an arc.
• AREA (AA):  Calculates the area and perimeter of objects or of defined areas.

B

• BLOCK (B): Creates a block definition from selected objects.
• BREAK (BR): Breaks the selected object between two points.

C

• CIRCLE (C): Creates a circle.
• CHAMFER (CHA): Bevels the edges of objects
• COLOR (COL): Sets the color for new objects.
• COPY (CO): Duplicates selected objects.
• CYLINDER (CYL): Creates a 3D solid cylinder.

D

• DIMSTYLE (D): Creates and modifies dimension styles.
• DIMANGULAR (DAN): Creates an angular dimension.
• DIMARC (DAR): Creates an arc length dimension.
• DIMCENTER (DCE): Creates the center mark or the centerlines of circles and arcs.
• DIMDIAMETER (DDI): Creates a diameter dimension for a circle or an arc.
• DONUT (DO): Creates a filled circle or a wide ring.
• DIMRADIUS (DRA): Creates a radius dimension for a circle or an arc.

E

• ERASE (E): Removes objects from a drawing.
• ELLIPSE (EL): Creates an ellipse 
• or an elliptical arc.
• EXTEND (EX): Extends objects to meet the edges of other objects.

F

• FILLET (F): Rounds or caps the edges of two intersecting lines. (Set radius to 0 to perfectly join lines).

G-H

• GROUP (G):Creates and manages saved sets of objects called groups.
• HATCH (H): Fills an enclosed area or selected objects with a hatch pattern, solid fill, or gradient fill.
• HATCHEDIT (HE): Modifies an existing hatch or fill.

I-J

•  IMAGE (IM): Displays the External References palette.
•  IMPORT (IMP): Imports files of different formats into the current drawing.
• JOIN (J): Joins similar objects to form a single, unbroken object.

L-M

• LINE (L): Creates straight line segments.
• LAYER (LA): Manages layers and layer properties.
• LIST (LI): Displays property data for selected objects.
• LAYOUT (LO): Creates and modifies drawing layout tabs.
• LINETYPE (LT): Loads, sets, and modifies linetypes.
• LWEIGHT (LW): Sets the current lineweight, lineweight display options, and lineweight units
• MOVE (M): Moves objects a specified distance in a specified direction.
• MATCHPROP (MA): Applies the properties of a selected object to other objects.
• MEASURE (ME): Creates point objects or blocks at measured intervals along the length or perimeter of an object.
• MIRROR (MI): Creates a perfectly symmetrical reflected copy of selected objects.
• MLINE (ML): Creates multiple parallel lines.
• MTEXT (MT): Creates a multiline text object.

N-O-P

• NORTH GEOGRAPHICLOCATION : Specifies the geographic location information for a drawing file
• OFFSET (O): Creates concentric circles, parallel lines, or parallel curves at a set distance.
• OPTIONS (OP): Customizes the program settings.
• OSNAP (OS/F3): Sets running object snap modes.
• OVERKILL (OVERKILL): Deletes overlapping or duplicate lines to reduce file size and double line work.
• PAN (PAN): Drags your drawing view horizontally or vertically without changing zoom (activated by clicking and holding the mouse scroll wheel).
• POLYLINE (PL): Draws connected lines and arcs as a single, continuous object.
• POINT (PO): Creates a point object.
• POLYGON (POL): Creates an equilateral closed polyline.
• PROPERTIES (PR): Displays Properties palette.
• PURGE (PU): Removes unused items, such as block definitions and layers, from the drawing.
• PYRAMID (PYR): Creates a 3D solid pyramid.

Q-R-S

• QUICKCALC (QC): Opens the QuickCalc calculator.
• QSAVE : Saves the current drawing.
• REDRAW (R): Refreshes the display in the current viewport.
• REGEN (RE): Regenerates the entire drawing from the current viewport.
• RECTANG (REC): Creates a rectangular polyline.
• REVOLVE (REV): Creates a 3D solid or surface by sweeping a 2D object around an axis.
• ROTATE (RO): Rotates objects around a specified base point.
• STRETCH (S):Stretches objects crossed by a selection window or polygon.
• SCALE (SC): Enlarges or reduces selected objects, keeping the proportions of the object the same after scaling.
• STYLE (ST): Creates, modifies, or specifies text styles.

T-U-V-W

• TABLE (TB): Creates an empty table object.
• TRIM (TR):Trims objects to meet the edges of other objects.

X-Y-Z

• EXPLODE (X): Breaks a compound object into its component objects.
• ZOOM (Z): Changes the magnification of your drawing view. Using Z + E (Zoom Extents) snaps your view to show all active objects.

Function Keys

• F1: Display Help 
• F2: Toggle text screen
• F3: Toggle object snap mode
• F4: Toggle 3D Osnap
• F5: Toggle Isoplane
• F6: Toggle Dynamic UCS
• F7: Toggle grid mode
• F8: Toggle ortho mode
• F9: Toggle snap mode
• F10: Toggle polar mode
• F11: Toggle object snap tracking
• F12: Toggle dynamic input mode

Other Shortcuts

• Ctrl+A :  Select all objects
• Ctrl+C : Copy object
• Ctrl+X : Cut object
• Ctrl+V : Paste object
• Ctrl+Shift+C : Copy to clipboard with base point
• Ctrl+Shift+V Paste data as block
• Ctrl+Z : Undo last action
• Ctrl+Y : Redo last action
• ESC : Cancel current command
• Ctrl+N : New Drawing
• Ctrl+S : Save drawing
• Ctrl+O : Open drawing
• Ctrl+D : Toggle coordinate display
• Ctrl+G : Toggle Grid
• Ctrl+E : Cycle isometric planes
• Ctrl+F : Toggle running object snaps
• Ctrl+H : Toggle Pick Style
• Ctrl+0 : (zero) Clean Screen
• Ctrl+1 : Property Palette
• Ctrl+2 : Design Center Palette
• Ctrl+3 : Tool Palette
• Ctrl+4 : Sheet Set Palette
• Ctrl+6 : DBConnect Manager
• Ctrl+7 : Markup Set Manager Palette
• Ctrl+8 : Quick Calc
• Ctrl+9 : Command Line