ACP AutoCAD cheat sheet

OBJECTSNAP (OSNAP) constrains picks to endpoints, midpoints, centers, intersections, and perpendicular points; running osnaps persist until cleared in the Drafting Settings dialog.

Selection cycling (Ctrl+W toggle) lets you step through overlapping objects at a pick point; the status-bar cycle icon must be enabled before it works.

Polar tracking snaps the cursor to increments set in Drafting Settings (default 90 degrees); relative polar coordinates are entered as @distance<angle.

GRIPS: a selected object shows square grips at defining points; hovering a grip opens a multi-function menu for stretch, lengthen, and convert operations.

OFFSET creates parallel copies at a set distance or through a point; the Through option and Layer/Erase options control result placement.

TRIM and EXTEND use cutting or boundary edges; holding Shift while in TRIM switches temporarily to EXTEND and vice versa.

FILLET radius 0 produces a sharp corner; CHAMFER needs two distances or a distance plus angle, and both commands accept the Polyline option.

STRETCH moves only vertices inside the crossing window; objects fully enclosed by a crossing window move entirely, while a standard window selects everything it touches.

ARRAY offers Rectangular (rows, columns, levels), Polar (items, fill angle), and Path (divide or measure) types, each with an associative option.

Model space holds geometry at 1:1; paper space layouts represent the sheet, and each viewport carries its own viewport scale.

Viewport scale is the ratio of paper units to model units; a 1:100 viewport shows 100 model units as 1 paper unit, so annotation in paper space is scale-independent.

Annotation scale (CANNOSCALE) drives annotative objects; an annotative object displays only at the scales assigned in its object scale list.

PSLTSCALE=1 makes linetypes in viewports scale with the viewport scale; set to 0 they use the layout scale regardless of zoom.

DIMSCALE sets overall dimension size in model space; in layouts with annotative dimensions, DIMSCALE is effectively 0 and CANNOSCALE governs.

MLEADER and multileader styles store arrowhead, landing, and text settings; QLEADER creates simple leaders with an optional annotation.

TEXT height is fixed once set; MTEXT offers paragraph formatting, columns, and background masks, and its height can be reset until text is created.

FIELD inserts dynamic text such as sheet number, plot date, or object property; fields update on regen, plot, or open depending on the field setting.

BLOCK definition stores a name, base point, and objects; the base point becomes the insertion point when the block is inserted.

ATTDEF defines an attribute with tag, prompt, default value, and mode flags: Invisible, Constant, Verify, and Preset.

ATTREQ=1 prompts for attributes on insertion; ATTREQ=0 inserts the block using default attribute values without prompting.

ATTDIA=1 opens the attribute entry dialog on insertion; ATTDIA=0 prompts on the command line instead.

BATTMAN manages attribute definitions across multiple blocks; ATTSYNC pushes edited attribute definitions to existing block references.

Dynamic blocks add parameters and actions (move, stretch, rotate, visibility) that change the block reference without redefining the block.

WBLOCK writes selected objects or an existing block to a new drawing file; the block definition is purged from the source drawing only if not referenced.

Block units are set in the block definition; insertion scaling depends on INSUNITS and the drawing units of the source and target drawings.

ATTACH links an xref into the current drawing; the xref path can be full, relative, or no path, controlled by REFPATH and project settings.

Overlay xrefs are not carried forward to drawings that xref the host; Attach xrefs are nested and do appear in those drawings.

XREF path types: absolute stores the full drive path; relative stores the path from the host drawing folder; no path relies on the support file search path.

BIND converts an xref to a local block; Insert option keeps layer names intact, while Bind option prefixes layer names with the xref name.

XCLIP limits xref and block display to a boundary; the clipping boundary can be inverted, and the clip frame visibility is set by XCLIPFRAME.

ETRANSMIT packages drawings with dependent files (xrefs, fonts, plot styles) and can convert paths to relative or remove them.

PURGE removes unreferenced named objects such as layers, blocks, and styles; nested items require purging parent items first.

AUDIT checks and repairs drawing integrity; RECOVER opens a damaged drawing and reports errors found during the repair.

Plot scale is paper units to drawing units; Fit to paper overrides the scale and should be avoided when a true scale is required.

Plot style tables: CTB files map colors to properties for color-dependent plots; STB files map named plot styles and require drawings set to named plot styles.

Plot area options include Display, Extents, Limits, View, and Window; Window plots the rectangular area picked in the drawing.

Plot offset centers or positions the plot on the sheet; Center the plot aligns the plot area to the paper center.

Shaded viewport plotting options (As displayed, Wireframe, Hidden, Rendered) are available when the plot device supports raster output.

Publish (PUBLISH) outputs multiple sheets to a DWF, PDF, or plotter in one operation; sheet order and page setups are set in the publish dialog.

Page setups are saved configurations of device, paper size, scale, and plot style; they can be imported from another drawing with the Page Setup Manager.

PLOTTRANSPARENCYOVERRIDE controls whether object transparency plots; a value of 1 plots transparency, 0 ignores it.

Preview shows the plot result before output; a blank preview usually means the plot area or layer state excludes the geometry.