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AutoCAD Command Shortcuts

IN THIS GUIDE

This guide lists AutoCAD shortcuts in groups according to the command sequence. For example, all text relevant
shortcuts are grouped together.

Quick Link
BLOCKS 5 COMMON COMMANDS 5 CONTROL KEYS 5 COORDINATE ENTRY 5

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DIMENSIONING 5 DRAWING OBJECTS 5 EXTERNAL REFERENCE 5 FORMATTING 5

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FUNCTION KEYS 5 INQUIRY 5 LAYERS 5 MODIFYING OBJECTS 5 OBJECT SELECTION 5

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OBJECT SNAP 5 TEXT 5 3D 5 UCS 5 VIEWPORTS 5

Notes:

O Se
1. Generally a shortcut prefixed with ” -“ will suppress the associated dialogue from appearing.
2. Some of the following shortcuts only work with AutoCAD 2006.
3. Not all of the shortcuts listed work with AutoCAD LT.

BLOCKS
DE n
UK g
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
si

ATT ATTDEF Opens attribute definition dialogue box

WH De

ATTEDIT ATTEDIT Edit attribute values for a specific block

B BLOCK Opens block dialogue box in order to make a block

BATTMAN BATTMAN Opens block attribute manager

DP &

BATTORDER BATTORDER Displays attribute order dialogue box

BC BCLOSE Closes the block editor

ng

BCOUNT BCOUNT Counts the blocks in a drawing

BE BEDIT Opens the edit block definition dialogue box

ni

EATTEXT EATTEXT Enhanced attribute extraction wizard to count blocks

GATTE GATTE Global attribute edit of multiple blocks

an

I INSERT Opens insert dialogue to insert a block

-I INSERT Insert a block by name

Pl

MINSERT MINSERT Insert block in rectangular array

REFEDIT REFEDIT Edit a block reference in place

REN RENAME Opens rename dialogue box to rename blocks, layers, etc

W WBLOCK Write a block - for use in other drawings

XLIST XLIST Lists type/block name/layer name/color/linetype of a

nested object in a block or an xref

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TIPS
1. Create a new block on layer 0 so that the block will use the layer and properties of the current
layer it is inserted on. Text can be set to colour white.
2. Set ATTDIA to 1 to use dialog box with block attributes or 0 to use command line.
3. AutoCAD 2006 allows you to change the insertion point on the fly. INSERT and select
BASEPOINT. This allows you to pick anywhere in the drawing (and anywhere in the block you
are inserting) as your new insertion point (basepoint).

COMMON COMMANDS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

n
A ARC Draw an arc

io
AL ALIGN Align an object with another

AP APPLOAD Opens application load dialogue box

ct
AR ARRAY Opens array dialogue box

O Se
AUDIT AUDIT Audit drawing for errors

AV DSVIEWER Opens ariel view of drawing

B BLOCK Opens block dialogue box

DE n
C CIRCLE Draw a circle
UK g
CO COPY Copy an object
si
CHA CHAMFER Chamfer between 2 non-parallel lines

COL COLOR Opens select color dialogue box

WH De

CUI Opens customise user interface dialogue

D DIMSTYLE Opens dimstyle manager

DC ADCENTER Opens designcenter

DP &

DI DIST Check a distance

DIV DIVIDE Inserts point node a set division

ng

DO DONUT Draw a solid donut shape

DV DVIEW Perspective view

ni

E ERASE Erase a selection

an

EX EXTEND Extend a selection

F FILLET Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines

Pl

FI FILTER Opens filter dialogue box

FLATTEN FLATTEN Converts 3D to 2D

G GROUP Launches the group dialogue box

H HATCH Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box

I INSERT Insert a block

IM IMAGE Launches image manager

J JOIN Joins 2 objects to form single object

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JPGOUT JPGOUT Creates a JPEG file of current drawing

L LINE Draw a line

LA LAYER Opens layer manager

LE QLEADER Draw a leader line (may need to adjust settings)

LEAD LEADER Leader line with annotation

LI or LS LIST Display information about objects in a text window

LO -LAYOUT Creates a new layout tab

n
io
LTS LTScale Change the linetype scale

M MOVE Move a selection

ct
MA MATCHPROPERTIES Match properties of an object

ME MEASURE Inserts point node at input distance

O Se
O OFFSET Offset a selection

OP OPTIONS Launches options dialogue box

P PAN Pan in drawing

PE

DE n
POLYEDIT Edit a polyline
UK g
PL PLINE Draw a polyline
si
PLOT PLOT Opens plot/print dialogue box

PO POINT Point marker or node - DDPTYPE to change pointstyle

WH De

PR PROPERTIES Opens properties dialogue box

PRE PREVIEW Preview a plot

PU PURGE Opens purge dialogue box to remove unused elements

DP &

RE REGEN Regenerate the display

ng

REC RECTANG Draw a rectangle

REN RENAME Opens rename dialogue box to rename blocks, layers, etc
ni

RO ROTATE Rotate a selection

SP SPELL Spell check a selection - ALL to check entire drawing

an

T MTEXT Insert multiline text

TB TABLE Opens insert a table dialogue box

Pl

TP TOOLPALETTES Displays toolpalette

TR TRIM Trim a selection

U UNDO Undo last command

UN UNITS Opens units dialogue box

V VIEW Opens view dialogue box

W WBLOCK Write a block

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WHOHAS WHOHAS Displays who has a drawing open

X EXPLODE Explode a selection

XR XREF Opens x-reference manager

Z ZOOM Zoom in display - A=All, E=EXTENTS, W=WINDOW

CONTROL KEYS

n
CTRL+0 CLEANSCREEN Turns user interface elements on/off

io
CTRL+1 PROPERTIES Turns properties on/off

CTRL+2 ADCENTER Turns design center on/off

ct
CTRL+3 TOOLPALETTES Turns tool palettes window on/off

CTRL+8 QUICKCALC Launches calculator window

O Se
CTRL+A Select all

CTRL+C COPYCLIP Copies objects to clipboard

CTRL+H Turns a group on or off

DE n
UK g
CTRL+J Repeats last command
si
CTRL+N NEW Opens create new drawing dialogue box

CTRL+O OPEN Opens the select file dialogue box

WH De

CTRL+P PLOT Opens the plot dialogue box

CTRL+R CVPORT Switches between viewports

CTRL+S QSAVE Opens the save drawing as dialogue box

DP &

CTRL+SHIFT+ Save as
S
ng

CTRL+V PASTECLIP Pastes data from clipboard to drawing

CTRL+X CUTCLIP Removes select object from drawing to clipboard

ni

CTRL+Y REDO Performs the operation cancelled by UNDO

CTRL+Z UNDO Undoes the last operation

an

CTRL+TAB Switches between open drawings

CTRL+PAGE Switch up between layout tabs

Pl

UP

CTRL+PAGE Switch down between layout tabs

DOWN

ARROW Recall last command

UP/Down

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COORDINATE ENTRY
#X,Y Location measured by distance from 0,0 in current UCS

@X,Y Location measured by distance from last point

#distance<angle Location measured by distance and angle from 0,0 in current UCS

@distance<angl Location measured by distance and angle from last point

e

.x or.y or .xy etc Location by extracting and combining coordinate values from 2 or 3 points

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distance Location direct from current position in direction of movement

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<angle An angle override from current point

ct
DIMENSIONING
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

O Se
CTRL+8 QUICKCALC Displays the calculator

D DIMSTYLE Opens dimension style manager dialogue box

DAL DIMALIGNED Aligned linear dimension line

DAN

DE n
DIMANGULAR Angular dimension line
UK g
DAR DIMARC Arc length dimension
si
DBA DIMBASELINE Ordinate dimension from baseline of previous dimension

DCO DIMCONTINUE Ordinate dimension from 2nd extension line of previous

WH De

dimension

DDI DIMDIAMETER Diameter dimension for circles and arcs

DED DIMEDIT Edit dimension text on dimension objects

DP &

DI DIST Check a distance

DIMCENTER DIMCENTER Creates center mark

ng

DLI DIMLINEAR Linear dimension

DOR DIMORDINATE Ordinate point dimension

ni

DOV DIMOVERRIDE Override dimension style

DRA DIMRADIUS Radial dimension for circles and arcs

an

ID ID Display the co-ordinate values of a point

Pl

UN UNITS Opens drawing units dialogue box

DRAW ING OBJECTS

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

A ARC Draw an arc with 3 points

B BLOCK Opens block dialogue box in order to make a block

BO BOUNDARY Draw a boundary

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C CIRCLE Draw a circle

DO DONUT Draw a solid donut shape

DT TEXT Single line text

DIV DIVIDE Inserts point node a set division

EL ELLIPSE Draw an ellipse

F FILLET Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines

G GROUP Opens object grouping dialogue

n
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H HATCH Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box

L LINE Draw a line

ct
LE QLEADER Draw a leader line (may need to adjust settings)

LEAD LEADER Leader line with annotation

O Se
ML MLINE Draw multilines

O OFFSET Offset an object by distance

PL PLINE Draw a polyline - a complex line

PO POINT

DE n Point marker or node - DDPTYPE to change pointstyle

UK g
POL POLYGON Draw a regular polygon 3 to 1024 sides
si
RAY RAY Construction line in one direction

REC RECTANG Draw a rectangle

WH De

REG REGION Region - for shading for example

REVCLOUD REVCLOUD Revision cloud - note can select a polyline

SPL SPLINE Spline or smooth curve along points

DP &

T MTEXT Multi-line text

ng

WIPEOUT WIPEOUT Masks part of drawing for clarity

XL XLINE Construction line of infinite length

ni

TIP
1. Use PO to create node point - if you do not see anything try changing the node properties
DDPTYPE.
an

2. Alternatively set PDMODE to 3 to display an X at id point set PDMODE to 0 to clear.

EXTERNAL REFERENCE - XREF

Pl

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

REFEDIT REFEDIT Edit an external reference in place

XA XATTACH Opens select reference file dialogue for attaching Xref

XB XBIND Opens Xbind dialogue - allows import only of symbols etc

XC XCLIP Create a border in an xref to hide outside area

XOPEN XOPEN Opens a selected xref in a new window

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XR XREF Opens Xref manager dialogue box

TIP
1. Using RELATIVE PATH to find the Xref file relative to the existing location can be a benefit if files
are moved between locations or sent to others.
2. OVERLAID should be used in place of ATTACH if 2 drawings share a common Xref, eg a
mechanical drawing could be overlaid an electrical drawing to prevent the building outline ‘appearing’
twice.

NOTES
1. If a drawing has an Xref, the status bar will show the Manage Xref icon.

n
io
FORMATTING

ct
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

AP APPLOAD Opens application load dialogue box

O Se
BE BEDIT Opens the edit block definition dialogue box

BH BHATCH Opens hatch and gradient dialogue box

CUI Opens customise user interface dialogue

DE n
DIMSTYLE Opens dimension style manager dialogue box
UK g
DC ADCENTER Opens designcenter
si
DDPTYPE DDPTYPE Opens point style dialogue box

LA LAYER Opens layer manager

WH De

LT DDLTYPE Opens line type manager

LTS LTSCALE Change the linetype scale

LW LWEIGHT Opens line weight settings dialogue box

DP &

MA MATCHPROPERTIES Match properties of an object

ng

OP OPTIONS Launches options dialogue box

OS DDOSNAP Opens drafting settings object snap dialogue

ni

PR DDCHPROP Opens properties dialogue box

SSM SHEETSET Opens sheet set manager palette

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ST DDSTYLE Opens text style dialogue box

TP TOOLPALETTES Displays toolpalette

Pl

TS TABLESTYLE Opens table style dialogue box

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FUNCTION KEYS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

F1 HELP Opens Autocad help

F2 TEXTSCR Switches between text screen and graphic area

GRAPHSCR

F3 OSNAP Switches osnap on/off

F5 or CTRL+E ISOPLANE Cycles through isoplanes

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F6 or CTRL+D COORDS Turns coordinate display on/off

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F7 or CTRL+G GRID Turns grid on/off

F8 or CTRL+L ORTHO Turns ortho on/off

ct
F9 or CTRL+B SNAP Turns snap on/off

F10 or CTRL+U POLAR Turns polar on/off

O Se
F11 or OSNAP TRACK Turns object snap tracking on/off
CTRL+W

F12 DYNMODE Turns dynamic input on/off

DE n
UK g
INQUIRY
si
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

AA AREA Calculate the area

WH De

DI DIST Calculate a distance and angle

DDPTYPE DDPTYPE Opens point style dialogue box

ID ID Display the co-ordinate values of a point

DP &

LI or LS LIST Display information about objects in a text window

MASSPROP MASSPROP Calculate the region/mass properties of a solid

ng

PR PROPERTIES Opens properties dialogue box

WHOHAS WHOHAS Displays who has a drawing open

ni

XLIST XLIST Lists type/block name/layer name/color/linetype of a

nested object in a block or an xref
an

TIP
1. If you wish to identify a known location use ID and enter co-ordinates on command line to mark
Pl

that location with a node point - if you do not see anything try changing the node properties
DDPTYPE.
2. Alternatively set PDMODE to 3 to display an X at id point set PDMODE to 0 to clear.

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LAYERS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

LA LAYER Opens layer manager

LAYCUR LAYERCURRENT Change objects to current layer

LAYDEL LAYERDELETE Delete a layer by selecting object

LAYFRZ LAYERFREEZE Freeze a layer by selecting object

LAYISO LAYERISOLATE Isolates a layer by selecting object

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LAYLCK LAYERLOCK Lock a layer by selecting object

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LAYMCH LAYERMATCH Match properties of a layer

ct
LAYMRG LAYERMERGE Moves objects from first layer to second and deletes first

LAYOFF LAYEROFF Switches a layer off

O Se
LAYON LAYERON Switches all layers on except frozen layers

LAYERP LAYERPREVIOUS Restores previous layer state

LAYTHW LAYTHW Thaws all layers

DE n
LAYWALK LAYERWALK Walk through layers
UK g
LMAN LMAN Access Layer manager to save and restore layer states
si
TIP
Layer States - Create a layer state in Layer Manager (LA then Alt+S) to quickly switch between
different layer property settings.
WH De

MODIFYING OBJECTS
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
DP &

AL ALIGN Align an object with another

AR ARRAY Make multiple copies of an object

ng

BR BREAK Break a line by defining 2 points

CO or CP COPY Copy object

ni

COPYTOLAYE COPYTOLAYER Copy object from one layer to another

R
an

CHA CHAMFER Chamfer between 2 non-parallel lines

E ERASE Erase selection

Pl

EX EXTEND Extend a line to meet another

F FILLET Draw an arc between 2 intersecting lines

G GROUP Opens object grouping dialogue - use to copy or move

LEN LENGTHEN Lengthen or shorten a line

M MOVE Move an object

MI MIRROR Mirror an object

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MOCORO MOVE/COPY/ROTAT Copy move and rotate an object with one command
E

O OFFSET Offset an object by distance

RO ROTATE Rotate an object

S STRETCH Stretch an object

SC SCALE Scale an object

TR TRIM Trim objects

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X EXPLODE Explode single entity to component parts

io
TIP
1. When a grip point is selected cycle through command options using keyboard spacebar -

ct
sequence STRETCH, MOVE, ROTATE, SCALE, MIRROR.
2. Switch between Group and Ungroup using CTRL+H, yes H!!

O Se
OBJECT SELECTION (use with editing commands)
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

A ADD Adds each successive object, switches from remove

ALL ALL
DE n All objects on thawed layers
UK g
CP CPOLYGON Objects touching or enclosed by selection polygon
si
C CROSSING Objects touched or enclosed by window - Move right to
left
WH De

F FENCE Objects touch by single selection fence

G GROUP Opens object grouping dialogue - use with copy/move/etc

L LAST Most recently created visible object

DP &

P PREVIOUS Most recent selection set

R REMOVE Objects to remove from selection set

ng

SNAPANG SNAPANGLE Change the snap angle from default 0°

W WINDOW Objects enclosed by window - Move left to right

ni

WP WPOLYGON Objects within a window polygon

an

TIP
1. Use SHIFT+LEFT MOUSE BUTTON to deselect an object.
2. When a grip point is selected cycle through command options using keyboard spacebar -
sequence STRETCH, MOVE, ROTATE, SCALE, MIRROR.
Pl

3. Object Cycling - hold down the Control key while picking, AutoCAD will cycle through all the
objects that fall under the pickbox as you continue to pick. When the correct object is
highlighted, simply hit Enter. You don't need to continue to hold down the Control key after
the first pick.

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OBJECT SNAP - OSNAP

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

F3 OSNAP Switches osnap on/off

F9 or CTRL+B SNAP Turns snap on/off

F11 or OSNAP TRACK Turns object snap tracking on/off

CTRL+W

APP APPARENT INT Apparent intersection of 2 objects

n
CEN CENof Snap to centre point

io
DS DDOSNAP Opens drafting settings/object snap dialogue

END ENDPOINT Snap to end of line etc

ct
EXT EXTENSION Extends lines beyond endpoint

FRO FROM Snap to an offset distance from an object snap

O Se
INS INSERTION Snap to insertion point of text or block

INT INTERSECTION Snap to intersection of lines, circles, arcs

MID MIDPOINT Snap to midpoint of line etc

MTP
DE n Snap midpoint between two points
UK g
NEA NEAREST Snap near to an object
si

NOD NODE Snap to point node

NON NONE Turns off object snap modes

WH De

PAR PARALLEL Continues a line parallel to existing

PER PERPENDICULAR Snap to perpendicular of line etc

DP &

QUA QUADRANT Snap to quadrant of circle, arc, ellipse

TAN TANGENT Snap to tangent of circle, arc, ellipse

ng

TK TRACK Locate points without drawing lines

TT TT Temporary tracking point

ni

TIP
1. Use TAB to cycle through Osnap points.
2. SHIFT+RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON to reveal Osnap options
an

TEXT
Pl

SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

%%C Ø Diameter dimensioning symbol

%%D ° Degrees symbol

%%O OVERSCORE Toggles overscore mode on/off

%%P ± Plus/minus symbol

%%U UNDERSCORE Toggles underscore on/off

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DT DTEXT Single line dynamic text - Justify/Align to fit within text

line

ED DDEDIT Edit text

FIND FIND Opens find and replace dialogue box

JUSTIFYTEXT JUSTIFYTEXT Change the justification point without moving text

MIRRTEXT MIRRTEXT Mirrtext 0 to turn off

SCALETEXT SCALETEXT Scales text without moving the text insertion point

n
SPELL SPELLCHECK Performs spellcheck - ALL checks all text in drawing

io
ST STYLE Opens text style dialogue box

T or MT MTEXT Multiline/paragraph text

ct
TCIRCLE TCIRCLE Places circle, slot, or rectangle around each selected text
object

O Se
TEXT DTEXT Single line dynamic text

TEXTFIT TEXTFIT Stretches/shrinks text by selecting new start and/or end

points

TORIENT TORIENT Rotates text, mtext, and attribute definition objects

DE n
UK g
TXT2MTXT TXT2MTXT Converts DTEXT to MTEXT
si
WIPEOUT WIPEOUT Masks part of drawing for clarity

TIPS
1. To fit or align text in a defined area use DTEXT and select JUSTIFY/ALIGN or FIT - very
WH De

useful if text is enclosed by a rectangle/ circle/etc.

NOTES
1. Text entered in paperspace is 1:1, e.g. 5mm high text will print 5mm high.
DP &

THREE DIMENSIONAL - 3D
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
ng

3D 3D Command line 3D solid options

BOX BOX Draw a cube

ni

CYLINDER CYLINDER Draw a cylinder

an

DDUCS DDUCS Opens ucs dialogue

DDUCSP DDUCSP Opens ucs dialogue at orthographic tab

Pl

EXT EXTRUDE Extrude a face

IN INTERSECT Intersect an object

REV REVOLVE Revolves an object about an axis

RR RENDER Open render dialogue box

SE SECTION Section

SL SLICE Slice a solid

SU SUBTRACT Subtract selection from solid

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TOR TORUS Draw torus shape

UC DDUCS Displays UCS manager dialogue box

UCS UCS UCS command line options

UNI UNION Union solids

VPORTS VPORTS Opens viewport dialogue box

WE WEDGE Draw a wedge

n
UCS

io
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT

OB OBJECT Align UCS with an object, first select UCS

ct
UC DDUCS Display UCS manager dialogue box

UCS UCS Universal co-ordinate system options

O Se
UCSICON UCSICON Change the UCS icon appearance

W WORLD Return to the WCS

DE n
VIEW PORTS
UK g
SHORTCUT COMMAND COMMENT
si
CTRL+R Cycle through viewports

CTRL+PAGE Switch up between layout tabs

UP
WH De

CTRL+PAGE Switch down between layout tabs

DOWN

DV DVIEW Perspective view.

DP &

MS MSPACE Switch to modelspace in a viewport

MV MVIEW Make a viewport in paperspace

ng

PS PSPACE Switch to paperspace from viewport

VPORTS VPORTS Opens viewports dialogue box

ni

-VPORTS -VPORTS Create a viewport using command line

TIP
an

1. To prevent a viewport from editing right mouse click on the viewport and select DISPLAY
LOCKED/YES
Pl

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