Important AutoCAD Command and Shortcut One Must Know

In this massive list of approximately 100 AutoCAD commands, I have tried to include some of the most useful commands, Keyboard Shortcuts and Tools which every AutoCAD user must know. Some of the commands in this list are very basic which are used very frequently and also there are commands and tools which are not often used despite their great features.

Basic AutoCAD Commands

This is the list of some of the most basic AutoCAD commands which every AutoCAD user should know. These are some of the Draw and Modify commands which make the very basics of AutoCAD and if you are just starting to learn AutoCAD then you should know all of these basic commands.

L
It can be used for making simple lines in the drawing.
C
It is the command used for making a circle in AutoCAD.
PL
This command can be used to make a Polyline in your drawing.
REC
This command will make a rectangle in AutoCAD.
POL
This command can be used to make a polygon with minimum 3 sides and a maximum of 1024 sides.
ARC
As the name suggests, this command can be used to make an arc in AutoCAD.
ELLIPSE
As the name suggests, this command can be used to make an ellipse with the major and minor axis.
REG
This command can be used to make a region geometry in AutoCAD.
CO
This command is used to copy object(s) in AutoCAD.
ARRAY
Using this command you can make Rectangular, polar or Path array.
TR
This command is used for trimming a geometry.
OP
Using this command you can open options window which contains most of the settings of AutoCAD.
SC
This command is used to change the scale of an object.
B
This command is used for creating a block, the properties of the block can be defined using the block definition window.
I
This command can be used to insert an existing block or a drawing as a block in AutoCAD.
ST
Using this command you can open text style window which controls properties of the default AutoCAD text style.
X
This command can be used to explode objects like Polyline to simple lines, an array or a block to a simple geometry etc.
F
This command can be used to add rounded corners to the sharp edges of the geometry, these round corners are also called fillets.
CHA
This command can be used to add slant edges to the sharp corners, these slant edges are also called chamfers.
LA
This command can be used to open layer properties manage palette which is a tool for creating and managing layers in a drawing.

Keyboard Shortcut Keys

Keyboard shortcuts or hotkeys are the shortest and quickest way of activating some of the common AutoCAD operations or commands. In this list I have included some of the most frequently used and useful keyboard shortcuts.

Ctrl + 0
Clears screen to show only the drawing area and hides palettes and tabs. Press it again to reset default AutoCAD interface.
Ctrl + 1
Select and object and press Ctrl + 1 to open the properties palette which lists properties of the object. You can use this palette to modify most of the properties of the object too. You can also use PR command to open the property palette.
Ctrl + 2
You can use it to open design center palette which contains many AutoCAD blocks that can be used directly in your drawing.
Ctrl + 9
You can use this keyboard shortcut to toggle the visibility of command line. If for some reason your command line is hidden from the drawing area, then use this keyboard shortcut to bring it back.

Ctrl + Shift + V
To paste the copied objects as a block you can use this keyboard shortcut, the block thus created will have a random set of characters as is name. You can use this keyboard shortcut to make blocks quickly without going through the create block window.
Ctrl + Z
This keyboard shortcut can be used to undo last action in your drawing. You can press this shortcut key multiple times to undo many actions.
Ctrl + Y
This keyboard shortcut can be used to redo the last undo action which you have performed.
Ctrl + Tab
You can use this keyboard shortcut to cycle through all open drawing tabs in AutoCAD.

Status Bar Toggle

The status bar is an important feature of AutoCAD user interface and its tools are required quite frequently while making or editing your drawing hence they are available on status bar for easy access. You can activate or deactivate status bar icons using keyboard shortcuts, commands or by clicking on its respective icon.





In this section, I have listed the most frequently used status bar options along with their properties and uses.

F7
This status bar tool will toggle the visibility of background grid which is often visible in your drawing area.
F9
Toggle Snap mode, when snap mode is active AutoCAD cursor will jump to specific points in the drawing area which is defined in snap mode.


                 
DYNMODE
By default the value of this system variable is set to -3 which keeps it off you change this system variable to 3 to make dynamic input active. Dynamic input allows you to add information dynamically on the cursor tooltip.


                                      

F8
Toggles Ortho mode on/off. When ortho mode is on you can make lines either horizontally or vertically only.
F10
Toggles Polar tracking on/off. With polar tracking active you can make lines inclined to any angle which is defined in the polar tracking increment angle.
ISODRAFT
Using this toggle you can activate the isometric drawing plane in AutoCAD. You can select from Isoplane Left, Isoplane Top and Isoplane Right. You can also toggle between different isoplanes using F5 function key. The default value of ISODRAFT option is orthographic.
F11
Toggles Object snap tracking on/off. Using this option you can track snap points of geometries like center, midpoint, endpoint etc and make geometries with their reference.
F3
One the most important status bar toggles. This function key activates/deactivates object snap option, when object snap is active you will be able to snap your cursor to some exact points in the geometry like End, center, quadrant, tangent etc. This option allows you to make precise AutoCAD drawings.


                                                                     
LWDISPLAY
This system variable toggles visibility of lineweight in a drawing. The default value of this system variable is OFF which keeps the lineweight display off you can change its value to ON to keep lineweight visible in the drawing area.
TRANSPARENCYDISPLAY
Just like lineweight this status variable allows you to toggle the visibility of transparency of an object. You change the value of this system variable to 1 to make transparency visible or 0 if you want to make it invisible.
SELECTIONCYCLING
Using this system variable you can select overlapping objects very easily. When the value of this system variable is set to 2, an overlapping icon and a menu containing a list of overlapping objects appear and you can select the required object from this list.


If you set the value of this system variable to 1, only the overlap icon appears not the menu. You can turn this off by changing the value of this system variable to 0.


                                            
F6
Dynamic UCS can be activated or deactivated using this function key. Using dynamic UCS you can make geometries directly of the face or another 3D object irrespective of the position of UCS. You can also toggle dynamic UCS using UCSDETECT system variable, the values of this system variable can be 1 for ON and 0 for OFF.
GRAPHICSCONFIG


Using this status bar option you can open Graphics configuration window which is used to change settings related to display and graphics properties of AutoCAD. You can also use 3DCONFIG for opening the graphics performance window.