It’s not enough to draw nice-looking lines anymore. If you want to compete in the AutoCAD realm, you need to carefully organize the objects you draw, their properties, and the files in which they reside. This guide provides basic information and tools for accomplishing these things, without putting a T-square through your computer screen in frustration.
AutoCAD 2017 Drawing Setup Roadmap
AutoCAD 2017’s drawing setup can seem complicated at first. This table lists the fundamental setup commands you should use to set up your drawings, what they do, and various ways to find them.
| Ribbon or Application Menu | Command / Keyboard | Description | Your Action |
| Model Space | |||
| Step 1: Application menu→New Drawing | NEW / Ctrl+N | Opens the Select Template file dialog box | Choose imperial (acad.dwt) or metric (adadiso.dwt). |
| Step 2: Quick Access toolbar→Save | QSAVE / Ctrl+S | Opens the Save Drawing As file dialog box | Specify a suitable name. |
| Step 3: Application menu→Drawing Utilities→Units | UNITS / UN | Opens the Drawing Units dialog box | Specify suitable settings |
| Step 4: Right-click the status bar icon for Snap, Grid, Object Snap, Polar, or Object Snap Tracking | DSETTINGS / DS | Opens the Drafting Settings dialog box | Click each dialog box tab to specify suitable settings for Snap, Grid, and so on. |
| Step 5: View tab→Palettes tab→Properties | LTSCALE / LTS | Opens the Properties palette | Specify a suitable linetype scale. |
| Step 6: Annotate panel→Dimension tab→Flyout | DIMSTYLE / DIMSTY | Opens the Dimension Style Manager dialog box | Specify suitable values for dimensions. |
| Step 7: Annotate panel→Text tab→Flyout | STYLE / ST | Opens the Text Style dialog box | Specify suitable values for text parameters. |
| Step 8: Application menu→Drawing Utilities→Drawing Properties | DWGPROPS / DWG | Opens the Drawing Properties dialog box | Enter appropriate values. |
| Paper Space Layouts | |||
| Step 9: Right-click each Layout tab→Page Setup | PAGESETUPMANAGER / PAGE | Opens the Page Setup Manager dialog box | Enter suitable values for paper size, plotter configuration, and so on. |
| Model Space | |||
| Step 10: Quick Access toolbar→Save | QSAVE / Ctrl+S | Opens the Save Drawing As file dialog box | Switch File of Type to Template and specify a suitable name. |
After you complete the preceding steps, you’ll never need to repeat this sequence again for this particular setup. Simply start new files from the template you saved in Step 10 and you are good to go.
Top Keyboard Shortcuts in AutoCAD 2017
Since AutoCAD came into being more than 25 years ago, the one input method that’s remained constant is typing into the command line. This table lists useful keyboard shortcuts for AutoCAD 2017.
| Keypress | Command | Description |
| F1 | HELP | Calls for Help screen |
| F2 | TEXTSCR | Toggles the Text screen display |
| F3 | OSNAP | Toggles Object Snap mode |
| F4 | 3DOSNAP | Toggles 3D Object Snap mode |
| F5 | ISOPLANE | Toggles Isoplane mode |
| F6 | 3DOSNAP | Toggles 3D Snap to Plane mode |
| F7 | GRIDMODE | Toggles Grid mode |
| F8 | ORTHO | Toggles Ortho mode |
| F9 | SNAP | Toggles Snap mode |
| F10 | POLAR | Toggles Polar mode |
| F11 | OTRACK | Toggles Object Track mode |
| F12 | DYNMODE | Toggles Dynamic Input mode |
| Ctrl+Save | QSAVE | Saves the drawing |
| Ctrl+Open | OPEN | Displays the Select File dialog box |
| Ctrl+P | PLOT | Displays the Plot dialog box |
| Ctrl+Tab | Switches to the next open drawing | |
| Ctrl+PgUp | Switches to the next tab in the current drawing | |
| Ctrl+PgDn | Switches to the previous tab in the current drawing |
AutoCAD 2017’s Drawing Scale and Limits in Feet and Inches
In AutoCAD, setting limits correctly lets you display the drawing grid over your working area, among other things. This table lists the dimensions for different paper sizes at different drawing scales in AutoCAD 2017.
AutoCAD 2017’s Drawing Scale and Limits in Millimeters
If you prefer to work in millimeters when using AutoCAD 2017, you still want to set your limits correctly. This allows you to display the drawing grid over your working area, among other things. Here are the dimensions for different paper sizes at different drawing scales.
