AutoCAD 2012 For Dummies

AutoCAD 2012 Drawing Setup Roadmap

Drawing setup in AutoCAD 2012 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 you’d 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

menu→New→Drawing

File→New NEW (Ctrl+N) Creates a new

drawing based on

a template drawing

(DWT file)

2. Application menu→Drawing

Utilities→Units

Format→Units UNITS (UN) Specifies linear

and angular units

3. None Format→Drawing Limits LIMITS Specifies working

area

4. View tab→Navigate

panel→Zoom drop-down

flyout→Extents

View→Zoom→Extents ZOOM (Z),

Extents

Zooms to drawing

extents

5. None Tools→Drafting Settings DSETTINGS (DS) Specifies snap and

grid spacings

6. Home tab→Properties

panel→ Linetype drop-

down→Other→Show

Details→Global Scale Factor

Format→ Linetype→Show

Details→Global Scale Factor

LTSCALE (LTS) Sets linetype scale

7. Home tab→Annotation

slideout→ Dimension Style

Format→Dimension Style DIMSTYLE (D) Sets dimension

style

8. Application menu→Drawing

Utilities→Drawing Properties

File→Drawing Properties DWGPROPS Enters drawing

informational

properties

Paper Space

9. None Tools→Wizards→Create

Layout

LAYOUTWIZARD Creates a paper

space layout

10.Application Menu→Save File→Save QSAVE (Ctrl+S) Saves the drawing

AutoCAD 2012’s Top 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 AutoCAD’s 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

AutoCAD 2012's Drawing Scale and Limits Chart: Feet and Inches

It's not a bad idea to set limits for your AutoCAD 2012 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'

AutoCAD 2012’s Drawing Scale and Limits Charts: Millimeters

It’s not a bad idea to set limits for your AutoCAD drawing. The limits represent the rectangular working

area that you’ll 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 mm 297 x 420 mm 420 x 594 mm 594 x 841 mm 841 x 1,189 mm

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

Scale factor (as used by AutoCAD) is always a reciprocal of the drawing scale.

AutoCad uses the unit one as the base unit.

For example, if you wish to plot a mechanical drawing at a scale of 1/2 = 1 the reciprocal of 1/2 is 2/1� � which is 2. Therefore the scale factor is 2. If this drawing was to be plotted on a 11 x 17 piece of paper the limits would have to be 34,22. Text would be .25 high and other settings made for this scale to be plotted properly.

Another example would be an architectural drawing plotted at a scale of 1/4 = 1 -0 . Changing feet � � �to inches so the units are all in inches gives us 1/4 = 12 . Dividing both sides by 12 which is the same � �thing as multiplying by 1/12 we obtain 1/48 = 1. The reciprocal of 1/48 is 48. The scale factor then is 48. If this drawing is plotted on a 11 x 17 piece of paper the limits would have to be 816,528 (68 ,44 ). Text � �would be 6 high (.125 times 48 = 6). Other settings would have to be made for this scale to be plotted �properly.

Another example would be a metric drawing made full size. 1 = 25.4. Dividing both sides of this equation by 25.4 we get 1/25.4 = 1. The reciprocal of 1/25.4 is 25.4/1. The scale factor therefore is 25.4.Text (originally .125) then would be made approximately 3 high (.125 X 25.4 = 3.175). Text (originally .25) then would be made approximately 6 high (.25 X 25.4 = 6.35). Other settings would have to be made for this scale to be plotted properly

The scale factor of a drawing should be determined and utilized during the time of drawing set up.The proper scale factor is extremely important because it makes sure that text (height, etc.), dimension values (dimscale), hatch patterns, limits, and linetype scale (ltscale) are plotted at the proper size.

Samples:

A drawing scale of 1 = 1 has a scale factor of 1� �A drawing scale of 1/2 = 1 has a scale factor of 2� �A drawing scale of 2 = 1 has a scale factor of .5A drawing scale of 1 = 60.0 has a scale factor of 720�A drawing scale of half size (metric) has a scale factor of 50.8

Ref: http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?1568-understanding-drawing-scale-and-scale-factor