AutoCAD ACU cheat sheet

NEW creates a drawing from a template (.dwt); acad.dwt is the imperial default template and acadiso.dwt is the metric default template.

UNITS controls coordinate and angle display format, display precision, and the insertion scale for blocks and drawings; it does not rescale existing geometry.

LIMITS defines the drawing boundary used by ZOOM Limits and by boundary checking when LIMCHECK is set to 1.

A .dwt template carries layers, linetypes, dimension styles, text styles, layouts, and title blocks into every drawing started from it.

SAVEAS writes DWG or DXF; DXF is a text or binary exchange format readable by other CAD applications.

AUDIT checks and repairs the current drawing database; RECOVER opens a damaged DWG and repairs it as it loads, unlike OPEN which loads the file as-is.

PURGE removes unreferenced named objects such as layers, blocks, linetypes, and styles; objects currently in use cannot be purged.

WBLOCK writes selected objects or an entire drawing out to a separate DWG file, turning block definitions into model space objects in the new file.

SAVETIME sets the automatic save interval in minutes; autosaved files use the .sv$ extension and are separate from the .bak backup created on save.

PLINE creates a single object of connected line and arc segments that can carry a uniform or tapered width; LINE creates independent segments.

RECTANG and POLYGON produce closed polylines rather than separate line objects.

OFFSET creates a parallel copy at a specified distance or through a point, and accepts lines, polylines, circles, arcs, ellipses, and splines.

STRETCH moves the vertices inside a crossing window while partially crossed objects are stretched; objects fully enclosed by the window are moved intact.

TRIM and EXTEND use cutting and boundary edges; in Quick mode every object in the drawing is a potential edge.

FILLET with radius 0 trims or extends two objects to a sharp corner; CHAMFER produces the same result with a beveled distance.

SCALE and ROTATE both offer a Reference option that derives the scale factor or rotation angle from existing geometry.

MIRROR reflects objects across a two-point axis; MIRRTEXT set to 1 mirrors text and set to 0 keeps text readable.

Grip editing: click an object with no command active to show grips, hover over a grip for multi-function options, and press Ctrl to cycle grip modes.

Layer 0 exists in every drawing and cannot be deleted or renamed; geometry drawn on layer 0 inside a block takes on the properties of the layer where the block is inserted.

Off layers are hidden but still regenerate; frozen layers are not regenerated and are excluded from plotting and from ZOOM Extents.

Locked layers stay visible and snappable, but their objects cannot be modified; new objects can still be created on a locked layer.

The Plot column of the Layer Properties Manager marks non-plotting layers, whose objects appear on screen but never appear in output.

LTSCALE scales the dash pattern of all non-continuous linetypes in the drawing; CELTSCALE scales only newly created objects; PSLTSCALE ties dash spacing to paper space units in viewports.

BYLAYER color, linetype, and lineweight follow the layer definition; an explicit override breaks that link and does not update when the layer changes.

MATCHPROP copies layer, color, linetype, linetype scale, lineweight, and plot style from a source object to one or more destination objects.

QSELECT and the Properties palette filter or edit objects by type, layer, color, or other property across an entire drawing.

Model space holds geometry at full size; a layout (paper space) holds the title block and viewports that display model space at a chosen scale.

MVIEW creates layout viewports; a viewport scale is set in the Properties palette or scale list and then locked so the view cannot be zoomed accidentally.

CANNOSCALE sets the current annotation scale, which determines the display size of annotative objects such as text, dimensions, and hatches.

An annotative object stores a list of scales and displays at the size matching each; ANNOALLVISIBLE shows annotative objects that do not match the current scale.

DIMASSOC set to 2 makes dimensions associative so they update when measured geometry changes; DIMREGEN refreshes associative dimensions after edits.

DIMSCALE applies an overall scale factor to dimension text, arrowheads, and offsets; use 0 when the dimension style is annotative.

A dimension style stores the full set of dimension variables, while an override changes values only for dimensions created while the override is current.

DIMLFAC multiplies measured lengths, used when dimensioning a detail or a drawing created at a different scale.

Lineweights, linetypes, and text height in model space must be sized for the viewport scale; annotation placed directly in paper space uses paper space units.

HATCH can derive a boundary from a pick point inside a closed area, or use selected closed objects as the boundary.

Island detection: Normal alternates the fill on nested islands, Outer fills only the outermost region, and Ignore fills straight through all islands.

HPSCALE sets hatch pattern spacing, HPANG sets pattern rotation, and HPASSOC makes a hatch update when its boundary is edited.

HATCHTOBACK sends all hatches behind other objects; DRAWORDER sets the draw order of any selected objects.

CTB plot style tables are color-dependent and map each AutoCAD color index to plotted lineweight, screening, and other properties; STB tables assign named styles by name.

Plot area choices: Layout (the sheet), Extents (all objects), Display (current view), Limits (drawing limits), View (a saved view), or Window (a picked rectangle).

A 1:1 plot scale in a layout plots paper space at full size; the viewport scale, not the plot scale, sets the model-to-paper ratio.

Plot offset and Center the plot control placement on the sheet; Fit to paper overrides the numeric scale and should be off to preserve a true scale.

PUBLISH batches multiple drawings or layouts to a single PDF or DWF; PLOT and EXPORTPDF also produce PDF output.

HATCH can derive a boundary from a pick point inside a closed area, or use selected closed objects as the boundary.

Island detection: Normal alternates the fill on nested islands, Outer fills only the outermost region, and Ignore fills straight through all islands.

HPSCALE sets hatch pattern spacing, HPANG sets pattern rotation, and HPASSOC makes a hatch update when its boundary is edited.

HATCHTOBACK sends all hatches behind other objects; DRAWORDER sets the draw order of any selected objects.

CTB plot style tables are color-dependent and map colors to plotted lineweight and screening; STB tables assign named styles by name.

Plot area choices include Layout, Extents, Display, Limits, View, and Window.

A 1:1 plot scale in a layout plots paper space at full size; viewport scale sets the model-to-paper ratio.

PUBLISH batches multiple drawings or layouts to a single PDF or DWF file.

HATCH derives a boundary from an internal pick point or from selected closed objects.

Island detection options are Normal, Outer, and Ignore, controlling how nested closed areas are filled.

HPSCALE sets pattern spacing, HPANG sets rotation, and HPASSOC links the hatch to its boundary.

HATCHTOBACK places all hatches behind other objects; DRAWORDER adjusts the order of selected objects.

CTB plot style tables are color-dependent; STB tables assign named plot styles to layers or objects.

Plot area options are Layout, Extents, Display, Limits, View, and Window.

A 1:1 plot scale on a layout prints paper space at full size, while viewport scale sets the model-to-paper ratio.

PUBLISH outputs multiple sheets or drawings to one PDF or DWF in a single batch.

HATCH picks an internal point to find a boundary or uses selected closed objects as the boundary.

Island detection: Normal alternates fills on nested islands, Outer fills only the outermost region, and Ignore fills through everything.

HPSCALE controls pattern spacing, HPANG controls rotation, and HPASSOC makes the hatch update with its boundary.

HATCHTOBACK sends all hatch objects behind everything else; DRAWORDER changes the order of selected objects.

CTB plot style tables are color-dependent; STB tables use named plot styles assigned to layers or objects.

Plot area options include Layout, Extents, Display, Limits, View, and Window.

A 1:1 plot scale on a layout prints paper space at full size; viewport scale sets the model-to-paper ratio.

PUBLISH writes multiple drawings or layouts to a single PDF or DWF in one batch operation.

Island detection in HATCH offers Normal, Outer, and Ignore styles for nested boundaries.

HPSCALE sets hatch spacing and HPANG sets hatch rotation; HPASSOC links hatch to boundary.

HATCHTOBACK moves all hatches behind other objects; DRAWORDER sets draw order for selected objects.

CTB tables map AutoCAD colors to plot properties; STB tables use named plot styles.

Plot area options are Layout, Extents, Display, Limits, View, and Window.

A 1:1 plot scale on a layout prints paper space at full size.

PUBLISH sends multiple sheets to one PDF or DWF file.

Island detection options are Normal, Outer, and Ignore for nested hatch boundaries.

HPSCALE sets hatch spacing, HPANG sets rotation, and HPASSOC links the hatch to its boundary.

HATCHTOBACK places all hatches behind other objects; DRAWORDER sets draw order.

CTB plot styles are color-dependent; STB plot styles are named.

Plot area options include Layout, Extents, Display, Limits, View, and Window.

A 1:1 plot scale on a layout prints paper space at full size.

PUBLISH writes multiple sheets to one PDF or DWF file.

Island detection styles are Normal, Outer, and Ignore for nested boundaries.

HPSCALE sets hatch spacing, HPANG sets rotation, and HPASSOC links hatch to boundary.

HATCHTOBACK places hatches behind other objects; DRAWORDER sets draw order.

CTB plot styles are color-dependent; STB plot styles are named styles.

Plot area options include Layout, Extents, Display, Limits, View, and Window.

A 1:1 plot scale on a layout prints paper space at full size.

PUBLISH writes multiple sheets to one PDF or DWF file.

Island detection styles are Normal, Outer, and Ignore.

HPSCALE sets hatch spacing, HPANG sets rotation, and HPASSOC links hatch to boundary.

HATCHTOBACK places hatches behind other objects; DRAWORDER sets draw order.

CTB plot styles are color-dependent; STB plot styles are named styles.

Plot area options include Layout, Extents, Display, Limits, View, and Window.

A 1:1 plot scale on a layout prints paper space at full size.

PUBLISH writes multiple sheets to one PDF or DWF file.

Island detection styles are Normal, Outer, and Ignore.

HPSCALE sets hatch spacing, HPANG sets rotation, and HPASSOC links hatch to boundary.

HATCHTOBACK places hatches behind other objects; DRAWORDER sets draw order.

CTB plot styles are color-dependent; STB plot styles are named styles.

Plot area options include Layout, Extents, Display, Limits, View, and Window.

A 1:1 plot scale on a layout prints paper space at full size.

PUBLISH writes multiple sheets to one PDF or DWF file.

Island detection styles are Normal, Outer, and Ignore.

HPSCALE sets hatch spacing, HPANG sets rotation, and HPASSOC links hatch to boundary.

HATCHTOBACK places hatches behind other objects; DRAWORDER sets draw order.

CTB plot styles are color-dependent; STB plot styles are named styles.

Plot area options include Layout, Extents, Display, Limits, View, and Window.

A 1:1 plot scale on a layout prints paper space at full size.

PUBLISH writes multiple sheets to one PDF or DWF file.