BASIC TERMINOLOGY

AutoCAD has a wide selection of tools and capabilities, and with this comes a variety of terms that you might not be familiar with. To help you along your AutoCAD journey, we’ve put together a small list of basic AutoCAD terminology. Don’t worry, you’ll be using these terms like a pro before you even know it! If you come across an unfamiliar term, you can check out the full AutoCAD glossary of terms.

• Absolute coordinates: a method of inputting points based on the origin.
  • Acad.dwt: default template that loads when you start a new drawing.
  • Block: a pre-drawn image that you can insert into your drawing.
  • Extent: the outer boundaries of the objects you’ve drawn.
  • Grid: this can be used as a guide for drawings—you can toggle on/off with F7.
  • Linetype: objects are all drawn with a line type, e.g. solid or dashed.
  • Object: any item in the AutoCAD database, otherwise known as an entity.
  • Origin: this is the (0,0) point of your coordinate system.
  • Ortho Mode: a mode that only permits you to draw perpendicular lines—you can toggle on/off with F8.
  • Onsnap (Object Snap): the method of ‘snapping’ to precise points on an object.
  • Pan: to move around your drawing by dragging the drawing area.
  • Polar coordinates: a method of inputting points based on distance and angle.
  • Relative coordinates: a method of inputting points based on a start point.
  • Ribbon: the ribbon runs across the top of the drawing space and contains panels.
  • Snap: a drawing mode that lets you snap your cursor to precise points on a grid pattern.
  • User Coordinate System (UCS): a Cartesian coordinate system that establishes the XY work plane, horizontal and vertical directions.
  • Viewport: a window that lets you view your drawing—you can have multiple viewports to see different areas of a drawing.