AutoCAD Guide: Master 2D Drafting from Start to Plot
13 hours ago
16 min read
Updated: 1 hour ago
A guide to one of the world's most widely used design packages, from the very beginning to the printed sheet.
Before December 1982, drawings were done by hand (pencil, straightedge, drafting table inclined toward the light). Then Autodesk came along and released AutoCAD, and the line became a number.
Every object on the screen is now at a coordinate to 14 decimal places. That's more precision than any building will ever require. It's also the catch. The software never guesses. It simply places exactly what you give it. Learning AutoCAD is really just learning what to give it.
AutoCAD is computer-aided design (CAD) software for 2D drafting and 3D modelling. It's been around for over 40 years, and its DWG file format is the de facto standard that everyone in the industry uses (studio, contractor and client).
Far Beyond the Floor Plan
Architects use it for floor plans, sections, elevations, and BIM drawings. Interior designers use it to work out room layouts and produce 3D views for the client, then hand the contractor the technical sheets. Engineers use it to draw their mechanical, electrical, and civil drawings.
On site, the DWG does all the talking. Every element of the project is in the DWG and communicated accurately to the crew.
Products are drawn up before they exist. Urban planners produce their maps of the city and its outdoor space. Product designers build prototypes. Fashion and jewellery designers will draw up the most minute patterns for production.
Full, Light and Cloud
Today AutoCAD is available in several weights.
The full program does 2D drafting and 3D modelling. AutoCAD LT is the 2D drafting-only version and is considerably cheaper. It's ideal for small projects or occasional use. The web app brings DWG viewing and editing to the browser on any connected device, which is great for collaboration and quick changes off the desk.
Specialized toolsets extend the full programme for the various trades. Architecture has its own toolset for auto-generating floor plans and section views. Electrical has its own toolset for control system design. Both Electrical and Mechanical have their own industry-specific libraries. Fusion (Autodesk's cloud-based CAD tool) is a separate product.
Before the First Line
Real software is from the Autodesk site itself (AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT are listed first there). You need an Autodesk account in either case. You can purchase via the checkout process or via an authorized reseller. The free trial requires a short form (purpose of the trial, industry, role and organisation/institution). Students and instructors can access the software free of charge via Autodesk's education licensing. Usage, of course, differs. Commercial use requires a paid subscription.
Plans are available monthly, annually, or on a multi-year basis, and full AutoCAD is, of course, more expensive than LT. Autodesk also offers Flex, a pay-as-you-go option for occasional users. One subscription can be installed on more than one machine, but only one session can be running at any one time.
The software runs on Windows and Mac. A modern processor, ample memory and a graphics card capable of handling 3D are the baseline. Exact figures vary by release, so Autodesk's published specs for the installed version are the definitive source. One workaround for the low end: you can rent a cloud computer and run AutoCAD remotely.
Reading the Screen
The first screen is a bit cluttered, but it is definitely organized, and a few areas account for pretty much everything.
Application button: Top left, the AutoCAD logo with an arrow. Opens a menu for new, open, save, export, import, print and publish.
Quick Access Toolbar: Print, Save, Save As, Undo and Redo by default. Customizable.
Ribbon: Tabs (Home, Insert, Annotate, Parametric, View, Manage, Output, Add-ins, Collaborate, Express Tools, Featured Apps) hold panels of tools. Home opens first, with Draw, Modify, Annotate, Layers, Block, Properties, Group, Utilities, Clipboard and View. A small arrow at a panel’s lower right opens its dialogue box.
Drawing area: The blank space with grid lines and the UCS icon, also called model space. File tabs along the top switch between open drawings.
Command line: At the bottom. Takes typed commands and answers with prompts.
Status bar: Toggles for OSNAP, ORTHOMODE, grid, snap, ISODRAFT and more.
Model and Layout tabs: Bottom left. Model is where drawing happens. A layout is a white sheet that simulates the printed page.
Navigation bar and ViewCube: Pan, orbit, zoom, SteeringWheel and ShowMotion on the right. The ViewCube sits top right.
Status bar
The blank space with grid lines and the UCS icon, also called model space. File tabs along the top switch between open drawings. Hover over a tool to bring up a tooltip. Hold the pointer there for a bit longer to get more detail.
Two workspaces cover most work: Drafting & Annotation for 2D, 3D Modelling for solids and surfaces. The gear icon at the bottom right switches between them, and you can save a custom arrangement under a name. Clean Screen hides the ribbon for more drawing room.
You can start a command in three ways, and all three do the same thing. You can type it. You can click its icon. Or you can select it from the Recent Input list, which pops up on a right-click. Typing is by far the most flexible option as it works across versions, across other CAD packages and on a colleague's machine where all the icons have been relocated. Short typed forms (called aliases) go a long way to reducing the effort required: type L and hit Enter and AutoCAD is ready to draw a line.
The command line also talks back, telling you where you are in the command and what it's expecting. Enter or Esc will terminate the command. If you don't do that, it will assume the command is still active.
Everything Begins at Zero
Every point on the screen corresponds to two numbers.
The origin is (0,0). If you go right, X increases. If you go up, Y increases. A point at (9,6) is 9 units along and 6 units up. A point at (-10, -4) is 10 units left and 4 units down. X comes first. Always. This is the World Coordinate System (WCS). In 3D work, we have a Z axis. If you move the frame, it becomes a User Coordinate System (UCS).
A line is two points (a start and an end), and AutoCAD stores both. Three systems cover every point you type at the keyboard. Nothing else is accepted.
Absolute coordinates are measured from the origin. 9,6 would put the point there. Relative coordinates are measured from the last point entered: @4,3 would be 4 units over and 3 units up from where the line left off. Polar coordinates give you a distance and an angle: @10<90 would draw 10 units straight up.
The @ symbol is the one that's most commonly omitted. If you leave it out or change the order of the numbers, it'll land somewhere else. Command history will show exactly what was typed for anyone who cares to look at a suspect entry.
Angles start at 0° on the 3 o'clock position and go counter-clockwise. 90° is straight up. A line at 300° (270 plus 30) is the same as one at -60°.
Drawings rarely give the angle in that form. A plan might give you just the angle between a line and the 9 o'clock position, e.g. 150°. The arithmetic is simple. Start at 0, go counter-clockwise to 180 and then back 150 again: +180 − 150 = 30. The line is drawn at 30°.
Units come first (units typed at the command line): inches or millimetres. As precise as the nearest 1/4", 1/2" or 1/64".
Main Commands, Then the Rest
There are hundreds of commands. The first few weeks cover eight: Line, Circle, Rectangle, Move, Copy, Trim, Offset, and Dimension. Once you've got those, the more advanced commands are much easier to grasp.
Line:draws a straight line segment between two points (either clicked or typed). You keep adding segments until you hit Enter or Esc to finish. U undoes the last segment. C closes the shape.
Circle: takes a centre point and a radius.
Rectangle: takes the two diagonal corners and returns a rectangle with horizontal and vertical sides. Below it is a closed polyline which AutoCAD draws automatically.
Polyline: can string line and arc segments together to form a single object (open or closed). It can have a constant width, or the width can taper from a starting width to an ending width.
Hatch fills an enclosed area with lines, dots, shapes, solid colour or gradient. Switch to the Hatch Creation tab, select a pattern and a scale, then click inside a closed boundary to do the job. Delete the surrounding objects afterwards, and you're left with a partial hatch. Drawings are rarely correct the first time round. You'll use the Modify panel on the Home tab to fix them.
Rotate: Turns objects around a base point.
Scale: Resizes while keeping proportions
Mirror: Mirrored copy across an axis; suited to symmetrical plans
Trim: Cuts objects back to a selected edge
Extend: Lengthens objects to a boundary.
Offset: Parallel copy at a set distance
Fillet: Rounds a sharp corner
Chamfer: Cuts an angled corner between two lines.
Stretch: Stretches selected objects
Array: Repeating pattern: rectangular, polar or along a path
Explode: Breaks an object into its parts.
Fillet and chamfer can both be used as quick editors. Set to a radius of zero, either one will trim or extend two lines to a clean corner. If one of the lines is a polyline, the result will join as a polyline. Fillet will also close two parallel lines with an arc (regardless of the radius setting).
ALIGN rolls move, rotate and scale into a single command. MATCHPROP copies properties from one object to another, and you can select which properties you want to copy (colour, linetype, layer, line weight, transparency, etc.). Arrays remain associative. You can change the count or spacing afterwards, and the pattern will follow.
The Cursor That Won’t Wander
Left alone, the cursor goes wherever the hand puts it. Osnap changes that. If you're near a line, the cursor will snap to an endpoint, midpoint, centre or intersection. Lines will actually meet exactly rather than just almost.
Three more toggles remain on the status bar. Grid displays a pattern of dots as a guide. Ortho constrains lines to horizontal and vertical only. Snap moves the cursor to a grid of fixed points.
When the pointer jumps from grid point to grid point and won't move smoothly, Snap has accidentally been switched on. A single click of the toggle on its status bar will turn it off.
ID reports the coordinates of any point you pick. QuickCalc does the maths as you type the command, so the result drops into the prompt rather than going through a phone calculator.
The Stack of Clear Sheets
Layers are like transparent sheets stacked on top of one another. One sheet might be walls, another electrical, another plumbing. Switch the sheet off, and its contents disappear. Switch it on, and the contents reappear. A complex drawing remains legible because each system is separate from the others.
The LAYER Properties Manager (LAYER, or the Home tab) will create a layer, name it and assign it a colour, a linetype and a visibility state. Names should be descriptive and tell you what the layer contains: Walls, Furniture, Electrical, etc. Use colour to differentiate elements at a glance. You can freeze or lock layers you're not using to prevent accidental modification. Everything you draw goes on the layer that is currently active, so it's worth a glance at the active layer first to avoid a lot of cleanup later on.
Beginner drawings generally fail in one of two ways: either they have absolutely no layers, or they have way too many. A third and worse way is to have everything drawn on Layer 0 with the properties manually overridden. SETBYLAYER resets objects to ByLayer (including those within blocks), which the properties drop-down won't pick up. LAYWALK will tell you what objects are on what layer. Layer states save different on/off arrangements so that a drawing can appear in two completely different ways even in separate viewports.
What the Drawing Has to Say
Annotation is where the drawing starts to talk to the builder.
Notes go in via the Text tool. MText will carry the bullets, alignment and fonts. Text styles will take care of all the notes having the same face and size—Right-click in the editor for Change Case.
Dimensions come from DIM (a single command which will place one dimension after another without you having to re-type). The result will depend upon the option you have selected, the object under the cursor, where you click and the direction in which the cursor moves. All dimension types (linear, angular and radial) are available via DIM. Dimension styles are controlled via DIMSTYLE.
Two of them get a mention. DIMALIGNED will fail if you're staggering the objects, and DIMROTATED is the one to use. It has no toolbar button and is very poorly documented. You can't create an angular dimension greater than 180° by selecting two lines. You have to select the vertex instead.
Hatching marks materials and sections. Tables can take formulas and pull values from other tables. Fields hold live text: the plot date, the file name, the area of a hatch.
A BLOCK takes a set of objects and turns them into a single reusable object. Select the objects, type BLOCK, assign a name and a base point, then insert that block as many times as you like. When you edit the definition, all copies update. File size goes down (often dramatically), particularly in 3D.
Dynamic blocks go one step further. A single door block can be made to change in size and shape via parameters, actions and constraints as defined in the Block Editor. It effectively replaces a whole dozen different blocks. With a mask, you can place a symbol on a line, and it will visually trim the line without actually cutting it. The line remains intact if the symbol moves. Attributes hold text (e.g. the fields of a title block). Exploding a block strips the attributes away, so BURST is used instead, which preserves them. BCOUNT will count the blocks in seconds.
Groups do a rather looser job. A GROUP will join up the objects so that you can select and move them as a group, whilst each object remains fully editable in its own right and retains its own grips.
External references (XRefs) link one drawing to another without actually merging them. You insert a tab, attach an XRef, pick a file and an insertion point. If the source file changes, the host file will update. You often overlay floor plans and structure this way, and the files stay very small. Paths break if the folder structure changes. The Reference Manager will fix them.
Blocks gather into tool palettes. If you open a standard drawing in DesignCenter and create a palette from its blocks, it takes only a couple of clicks.
Templates apply the same logic to an entire drawing. A DWT file contains the layers, title blocks, text styles, dimension styles and plot scales. A new drawing opened from such a file will be set up to that standard every time. The default acad.dwt will load automatically and can of course be modified.
File names should be equally disciplined: ProjectName_V1_09-2024.dwg, with the Save As function being used to keep the earlier versions alive.
Up Off the Page
AutoCAD is a drafting package first and foremost. It has tools for 3D solids, surfaces and meshes, but software designed for 3D (SolidWorks being the prime example) goes much further.
Predefined solids come ready-made: boxes, cylinders, spheres, wedges. EXTRUDE takes a 2D profile and extrudes it up into a solid either to a specified height or along a path. REVOLVE takes a profile and revolves it around an axis (to produce wheels, cones, etc., anything with circular symmetry). SWEEP takes a profile and sweeps it along a path, without requiring the profile face to be square to the path at the start. UNION joins two or more solids into a single solid. 3D Rotate will rotate an object in all 3 dimensions. BOX creates a box from width, depth, and height.
Navigation is different too. The ViewCube hops between top, front, side and isometric. The visual style switches between wireframe and shaded. VIEWPORTS splits the screen into several windows (e.g., top, front, and right side), and if you're editing in one, you see it in the others at the same time. Dropping down to 2D wireframe when you're editing is a massive help to the machine.
Rendering turns the model into an image, and the controls are on the Visualize tab. Materials come from the Materials Browser, and you drag them onto objects (wood, metal, glass, etc.), with the ability to adjust texture, reflection, and transparency. There are three types of light. Point lights emit in all directions (like a lamp). Spotlights emit in a cone. Sun and sky lights are meant for simulating daylight. Use a camera to frame the shot.
Resolution and quality presets (from Draft through High) will greatly affect render time. The lower the setting, the quicker the render. The higher the setting, the longer it will take. The finished render will be output as a JPEG, PNG or TIFF. A slow render responds to simpler geometry, frozen layers that fall outside the frame, lower resolution, and fewer reflective/translucent materials. If you do a lot of heavy renders, you'll eventually find you need a beefier GPU and/or more RAM.
Rules the Drawing Obeys
Parametric rules allow a drawing to have its own rules. You can tell a rectangle that its length is always twice its width. If you change one dimension, the other updates automatically.
Geometric rules define relationships: Coincident keeps two points together, Parallel keeps two lines parallel, and Perpendicular forces a right angle. Dimensional restrictions fix dimensions, e.g., the distance between two points or the angle between two lines. All of that's on the Parametric tab.
Repetitive work can be recorded. The Action Recorder (on the Manage tab) records a series of actions, saves it as a macro, and assigns a keyboard shortcut. AutoLISP (the programming language that comes with AutoCAD) is the way to go for more advanced customization. The CUI command opens the interface where you can edit shortcuts, palettes, and toolbars. Plugins take it further with layer managers, drawing cleanup tools, and industry-specific add-ins.
Sheet Set Manager groups the drawings (with title blocks and sheet numbers) so that the set is navigable and consistent. Data extraction pulls data from the drawings into spreadsheets and databases (schedules, part lists, setting out points, hole tables, etc.).
From Screen to Sheet
The Model tab has the drawing at full size. The Layout tab has the sheet (white, like paper, simulating the printed page). The scale, title block and viewports are all on that Layout tab. You can rotate a viewport so it's in the correct orientation to the page. In the Page Setup dialogue box, Display Plot Styles gives you a print preview.
Sharing takes many forms. You can use a PDF to share a drawing with people who don't have CAD software. Shared Views (Application menu, under Publish) creates a link which opens in any browser and allows comments to be added without the original DWG being released. ETRANSMIT packages the drawing with its XRefs, fonts, and plot style tables so nothing is lost in transit. Cloud-based co-authoring allows multiple team members to work in the same drawing at the same time. COMPARE (on the Collaborate tab) will highlight the differences between two drawings. For colleagues on older releases, you can set saving to an earlier DWG version as the default in the Save As options.
Plotting to an image produces better results than a screen capture if the drawing is going into Word or PowerPoint with plot styles applied.
Autosave protects the work. It's in Options under the Open and Save tab, and the SAVETIME system variable controls the interval (e.g. every 10 minutes). QSAVE and SAVEALL save manually. A .BAK file serves as a safeguard if the drawing gets corrupted.
Faster Than the Mouse
The mouse does more than just point. The wheel can zoom. Hold it down to pan. Double-click it to zoom to the extents of the drawing. ZOOMFACTOR sets the wheel speed (default is 60); valid values are 3 to 100, and lower numbers slow it down. ZOOMWHEEL reverses the direction.
Then the keyboard takes over.
AutoCAD has hundreds of shortcuts, and beginners don't need them all. A few will illustrate the concept. C will start a Circle, M will start a Move, and TR will start a Trim. F8 toggles Ortho. Ctrl+S is the save command. OOPS will bring back an object that's been erased without undoing all the work that's been done since. You can edit the alias list, and you can even create your own shortcuts from scratch.
The full list is in a companion PDF which is free to download:
Crashes, Drift and Other Small Disasters
Crashes have four usual causes: outdated AutoCAD or graphics drivers; corrupt drawing files (AUDIT and RECOVER will often fix these); not enough memory or graphics power (closing up the background apps will help, upgrading the RAM and/or GPU will help even more); and faulty third-party plugins (these are usually disabled or removed until the next update arrives).
Slow files have their own solutions. PURGE will strip out unused layers, blocks and text styles. AUDIT will look for errors. Blocks and XRefs help keep the file size down, although too many XRefs can, of course, slow things down again. Raising the virtual memory can help if the machine is short on RAM. You can turn off hardware acceleration if the display is glitching, and leave it on if you've got a decent graphics card.
A few little mysteries have one-line fixes. The file dialogue disappears, and you get prompts on the command line. FILEDIA set to 1 gets it back. The UCS icon is in the way. UCSICON set to NOORIGIN gets it out of the way. Selection is a bit odd; it's not like any other Windows software. PICKADD set to 0 means each new selection will replace the last (the default is 2).
Drawings that are built far from the origin lose accuracy. The solution is to bring the numbers down. Move the model closer to 0,0,0. Use a larger unit (the problem is most apparent in mm). Or draw the model at 0,0 and then place it as an XRef at global coordinates in the master plan. You can also use a saved UCS that defines the project location (called up as and when required).
Other Tools, Other Jobs
SketchUp is the quick sketchbook: very fast 3D concepts, a very gentle learning curve, the tool of choice for interior designers and hobbyists. Some file formats require plugins to open. LibreCAD is free and open source and is strictly 2D. FreeCAD is also free and open source, very good at parametric modelling, and has a less polished interface than the others.
The specialists are split by trade, really. ArchiCAD is very much an architectural product with BIM baked in for cooperative design and documentation. Inventor (from Autodesk) is the mechanical design product, with parametric modelling and simulation. SolidWorks is the ME product for product design, with a very strong set of parametric tools, simulation, and assemblies. CATIA is the aerospace/automotive/product design tool, with advanced surface modelling and the ability to do very complex mechanical systems. Rhino is the freeform/organic surface tool (it's built on NURBS), and AutoCAD is the drafting product.
For a first program, the verdict is split. SketchUp is generally easier to learn. AutoCAD provides a much stronger professional drafting foundation. The rest is down to compatibility, functionality, ease of use and interface.
Thirty Minutes a Day
30 minutes a day beats a weekend binge. Start with simple drawings, then move to more complex ones. Recreate tutorials rather than watch them. Use layers from the outset, and learn shortcuts a few at a time.
Basic 2D is estimated to take 2-3 months of regular practice. Advanced 3D modelling and customization takes 6-12 months.
Free material is everywhere. The Autodesk Knowledge Network has tutorials, webinars and certification guides. YouTube playlists go from absolute beginner to advanced user (Lynn Allen's "Tips and Tricks" series is a long-running one on YouTube). The r/AutoCAD subreddit and the CADTutor forum are full of answers to questions from people who are actually using the software. There are also a host of paid courses on Udemy, Coursera and LinkedIn Learning which provide a more well-organized approach with assignments and certificates. CADLearning has video lessons covering everything from the very first commands to the more trade-specific applications. There are books to cover all of that as well.
Autodesk's very own 'Hitchhiker's Guide to AutoCAD Basics' sets out a route in twelve steps: Basics, Viewing, Geometry, Precision, Layers, Properties, Modifying, Blocks, Layouts, Notes and Labels, Dimensions, Printing.
The last step is Printing. Weeks of coordinates, snaps and layers end on a sheet of paper, where a line drawn at 30 degrees is simply a line. Nobody counts the decimals.
