Lesson 3: Drawing Aides

Overview

Following this lesson, you will:

• Know how to use the Ortho, Grid, Snap, and Tracking tools to your advantage

• Know how to use OSNAPs

• Know how to use the Direct Distance Options when you draw

• Be familiar with the different toggles “ keyboard, function keys, and status bar “ available to help you

Lesson 2 showed us how to draw with accuracy. But without some additional help, we'll need to know exact coordinates or exact distances every time we draw a line or a circle. What if we want to go to a specific point “ say, the end point of an existing line? Must we break out the calculator every time?

No! AutoCAD provides many tools and drawing aids that help you minimize, though not eliminate, the need for calculation. Lesson 2 taught you to draw with accuracy. This lesson will show you how to draw with speed without sacrificing accuracy.