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.