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Here is what the AutoCAD window will looks like once you get it setup. Along the top and both sides you will have all the toolbars needed for creating and editing your drawing. At the bottom, you'll see the Command Line, where you can input various commands by keyboard, or enter coordinates or other information required by AutoCAD. Below it you'll find the coordinate system. These are the current coordinates of your cursor in model space. To the right of that is the Status Bar, which tells you what features you have turned on and off at the time. Right-clicking the Status bar buttons will let you change the preferences for many of the features. Just below the drawing window itself, you'll see three tabs labeled Model, Layout1, and Layout2. Model Space is where you will do all your drawing. Do not ever draw in Paper Space; it is used for setting up your drawing for printing. The Layout1 and Layout2 tabs are both Paper Space, and allow you to set up different view ports if you need to print your drawing from several different angles. The USC icon, located in the center of the screen when you first open AutoCAD, tells you which direction the X, Y, and Z axes are facing, and which way is positive and negative in each axis. This is a very important tool later on when working in 3D space. You will need to pay attention to which way the USC is oriented. In 2D space, positive is up/right and negative is down/left, just like in all your math courses. |
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