AUTOCAD TOOLBAR - DRAW
There are 7 buttons that are clickable in this section with another 13 in the drop down section for the Draw area on the toolbar. You will utilize these functions the most when drawing and are the basic tools required to complete a technical drawing. Lets go over the 7 buttons now:
LINE [L]
Start drawing a line [L] by clicking on a starting point. You then can move your mouse in a desired direction, type in a length, and or set an angle by hitting [TAB] and typing in a value for the angle. The line function draws individual line segments that are not joined together.
POLYLINE [PL]
A polyline [PL] functions the same way as a line [L] with being able to set the length of the polyline and its angle. The main difference between a line [L] and a polyline [PL] is that the line segments are joined together.
CIRCLE [C]
There are a variety different types of circles [C] you can draw which you can select from the drop down under the circle [C] button or typing it into the command line, like a tan tan radius circle [C]. To draw a circle [C] click for the center point and pull out to a point or type in a value for a radius, if you want a diameter type d or choose diameter from the command line and then type in your value for the diameter.
ARC [A]
Like when drawing a circle [C], there are a variety of different arcs [A] that you can select from the drop down by clicking on the button. The default arc [A] is a three point arc which works well when you have snap points you are attaching the arc to, but if you want an arc [A] with a specific radius you need to select that type.
RECTANGLE [REC] & POLYGON [POL]
To drawing a rectangle [REC] you first click where you want the first corner to be and then you can click where you want the corner diagonal to the first one or you can type in a value for one leg, hit [TAB] and then type in the value for the next leg.
The button for a polygon [POL] is under the drop down for a rectangle [REC]. You enter in the number of sides for your shape then you click on where you want the the center point. You then are asked if you want the polygon [POL] inscribed or circumscribed in a circle, and lastly the radius of that circle.
ELLIPSE [EL]
As with many of the commands there are different options when you click on the button ellipse [EL] with the default one being a center ellipse [EL]. To use this option you click on where you want the center point to be and the end points of both the minor and major axes.
HATCH [H]
The purpose of a hatch [H] is to add a fill to a closed shape. Generally a hatch [H] would be used to show the cut surface of a section view drawing or to represent different material types. You will notice that the toolbar changed to hatch creation and you can adjust a lot of different things including the hatch [H] pattern.