View

This is what AutoCAD will look like when you first open a new drawing.  The Model Space is oriented 3-Dimensionally, so you can create 3D objects.  For the first part of this course, we will only be working in 2D, so it will be beneficial to go to a 2D view.  This is done through the view toolbar.  There is a box with different sides shaded in for each icon.  The shaded side represents that side of the drawing. T he icon on the left is the Top View, which is what we will use for any basic 2D drawing.  On the right hand edge of the View toolbar, there are four icons that are angled.  These are the 3D view buttons that allow you to see all 3 dimensions of your object.
This is what the window looks like after you click on the Top View icon on the View toolbar. Clicking on any of the View buttons will zoom in on your drawing to fit it to the screen. This is called Zoom Extents.  There is a separate zoom extents command, but if you are changing around views often, it is easier to have the View toolbar, and simply click the icon for whichever side of the drawing you wish to zoom in on.