Chapter 1 AutoCAD Fundamentals ­ Part I Sec 1.3 - Interacting with AutoCAD OK, so you have the basic commands in hand and hopefully also a good idea of what you are looking at on the AutoCAD screen. We are ready to try out the basic commands and eventually draft something. So how do we interact with AutoCAD and tell it what you want drawn? There are six overall and four primary ways. The four primary ways are listed below, roughly in the order they appeared over the years. Below them are the two outdated methods that will only be mentioned in passing as a historical side note. · · · · · · Method 1: Type in the commands on the command line (AutoCAD v1.0 ­ current) Method 2: Select the commands from the drop-down cascading menus (AutoCAD v1.0 - current) Method 3: Use toolbar icons to activate the commands (AutoCAD 12/13 - current) Method 4: Use the Ribbon tabs, icons and menus (AutoCAD 2009 ­ current) Method 5: Use the screen side-menu (outdated) Method 6: Use a tablet (outdated) Details of each method including the pros and cons are listed below. Most commands will be presented in all four primary ways and it will be up to you to experiment with each method to determine what you prefer. Eventually you will settle on one particular way of interacting with AutoCAD, or a hybrid of several. · Method 1: Type in the commands on the command line. This was the original method of interacting with AutoCAD, and to this day remains the most foolproof way to enter a command, good old fashioned typing! AutoCAD is unique among leading CAD software in that it has retained this method while almost everyone else moved to graphic icons, toolbars and Ribbons. If you hate typing, this will probably not be your preferred choice. However, don't discount keyboard entry entirely; AutoCAD has kept it for a reason! When the commands are abbreviated to one or two letters (Line = "L", Arc = "A", etc.) input can be incredibly fast. Just watch a professional typist for proof of the speed with which one can enter data via a keyboard. Other advantages to typing are that you no longer have toolbars or a Ribbon cluttering up precious screen space (there is never enough of it), and that you no longer have to take your eyes off the design to find an icon, instead, the command is literally at your fingertips. Finally, this method is the only way to enter a few of the commands (mostly in 3D). The disadvantage is of course that you have to type! To use this method, simply type in the desired command (spelling counts) at the command line, as seen in Figure 1.6 and press Enter. The sequence will initiate and you can proceed. There are a number of shortcuts built into AutoCAD (try using just the first letter or two of a command), and we will learn how to make our own shortcuts in advanced chapters. This method is still preferred by many "legacy" users (a kind way to say they've been using AutoCAD forever). Figure 1.6 ­ AutoCAD 2010 command line ("circle" typed in) 10 | P a g e