Points In AUTOCAD

Points are defined (and saved) in AutoCAD using the Cartesian coordinate system. The coordinates will look something like 3.25,5.45, which is the format of X,Y. So the first and most traditional way of specifying points in AutoCAD is to type the coordinates whenever you are asked to do so, by typing X,Y (pronounced X comma Y). See the following illustration:

Autocad coordinates

Autocad Default Settings

• Sign convention: positive is up and right.
• Angle convention: positive is counterclockwise (CCW) starting from the east (i.e., 0 angle). See the following illustration:

Autocad Angle convention

Things You Should Know About Autocad
The mouse is the primary input device:

• The left mouse button is always used to select and/or click.

• The right mouse button, when clicked, offers a drop-down menu.

The mouse wheel has zooming functions:

• Zoom in on your drawing by moving the wheel forward.

• Zoom out of your drawing by moving the wheel backward.

• Pan (i.e., move through the drawing) by pressing the wheel and holding it and then moving the mouse.

• Zoom to the edges of your drawing by double-clicking the wheel.

If you type an AutoCAD command or any input in the Command Window, you have to press the [Enter] key to execute it. [Enter] = [Spacebar] in AutoCAD. To repeat the last AutoCAD command, press [Enter] or [Spacebar]. To cancel any AutoCAD command, press [Esc].