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Entering Command and Data Input

UNIT 2

ENTERING COMMAND AND

DATA INPUT

OBJECTIVES

General Objective : To understand and use the methods of entering command and data
input

Specific Objectives : At the end of the unit you will be able to :

 Enter command by three different methods.

 Create drawing by coordinate entry.
 Use Direct Distance Input to create drawing.
 Create a drawing by using Absolute Cartesian Coordinate.
 Create a drawing by using Relative Coordinate.
 Create a drawing by using Polar Input.
 Explain the deferential four methods coordinate entry.
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INPUT 2a

2.1 HOW TO BEGIN A COMMAND

There are three possible methods for entering commands in AutoCAD depending on
your preferences setting ( for the screen menu ). Generally any one of the three
methods can be used to invoke a particular command.

1. Keyboard Type the command name, command alias, or

accelerator ( Ctrl ) keys at the keyboard
2. Pull-Down Menu Select the command or dialog box from a pull-down
menu.
3. Toolbars Select the command or dialog box by PICKing an icon
( tool ) from a toolbar

2.1.1 Keyboard.
When you enter a command in a command window, AutoCAD either displays a
dialog box or prompts you for further information. This line of Command text is
termed the Command Prompt. The Command prompt asks you to specify coordinate
value, command options, or any other data needed to complete the command. The
following text is an example of the Command prompt for the PLINE command.
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Figure 2.1 : Example of the Command prompt.

Once you are comfortable entering commands at the Command prompt, you can
learn the command aliases, which are basic one- or two- or three- letter abbreviations
of the commands. Many commands have an aliases, and learning these can help you
work faster and more productively. A list of all the command aliases is located in the
Help menu.

2.1.2 Pull Down Menu

When you perform a Typical installation of AutoCad, you are presented with a menu
bar containing 10 menus:

Figure 2.2 : Menu Bar with 10 menus.

These menus provide an alternate method of accessing command and dialog

boxes other than the command prompt or toolbar button. They are term pull down
menu because when you choose one with your left mouse button, the menu is
display beneath its title, as if you were pulling the menu down from its title. The
menu remains present until you click anyway outside of it.

2.1.3 Toolbars
Another method of performing commands is through the various toolbar
tools. There are many tools in the 21 toolbars, but those most frequently used,
relating to file, edit and view, are found in the Standard toolbar, shown in the
following figure:
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Figure 2.3 : Standard Toolbars

To display other toolbars, you can access the Toolbar dialog box in the following
ways:
Toolbar : Right click any currently visible toolbar
Menu : View > Toolbars
Command : TOOLBAR

The Toolbars dialog box is displayed as shown in figure below:

Figure 2.4 : Toolbars dialog box

Clik on the box to choose any toolbars you need to use. Then, clik ‘Close’ button to end the
session.
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ACTIVITY 2a

FILL IN THE BLANK.

2.1 List three methods for entering command in AutoCAD R14. Explain.
i.
ii.
iii.

2.2 Give the steps to access the ‘line’ command to draw a line by using the pull down
menu.

2.3 How can we display the ‘toolbar box?

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Feedback To Activity 2a

ANSWERS.
2.1.
1. Keyboard Type the command name, command alias, or
accelerator ( Ctrl ) keys at the keyboard
2. Pull-Down Menu Select the command or dialog box from a pull-down
menu.
3. Toolbars Select the command or dialog box by PICKing an icon
( tool ) from a toolbar

2.2. Pull Down Menu : Draw > Line

2.3. Toolbar : Right click any currently visible toolbar

Menu : View > Toolbars
Command : TOOLBAR
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INPUT 2b

2.2 CREATING DRAWING BY USING

COORDINATE ENTRY
AutoCAD provides various commands that you use to locate points in the drawing
plane. You can create a drawing by using Direct Distance entry, Absolute
Coordinates, Relative Coordinates, and Polar entry methods.

2.2.1 Direct Distance Entry.

To enter point you can use a feature called direct distance entry. With direct
distance entry, you can specify a relative coordinate by moving the cursor in the
desired direction and then entering a distance.
Coordinate value are specified by moving the cursor to indicate a direction
and then entering the distance from the first point. This is useful when you need to
quickly specify a length. An efficient way to create object constrained to the current
axes is to use direct distance entry combined with Ortho mode turned on.
Direct distance entry can used with all commands except those that prompt
you to enter real values. This commands include ARRAY, MEASURE, and
DIVIDE.

2.2.2 Absolute Cartesian Coordinate Input.

Absolute coordinate system can be used when you know the exact X and Y
values of the point you want to place in the drawing window. The absolute
coordinates method uses the Cartesian coordinate system to locate points in the
drawing window. All points are measure from origin (0,0).
The Cartesian coordinate system has three axes X, Y, and Z that are used to
locate points and create objects. The Cartesian coordinate system uses distances ( in
unit ) to locate points along intersecting axes, the horizontal ‘X’ axes and the vertical
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‘Y’ axes. The intersection of these axes called the origin, where X = 0 and Y = 0
denoted as ( 0,0). These axes divide the coordinate system into four quadrant each
having positive, negative or positive and negative X and Y values.

You can draw a line by starting at the 0,0 and end at the point 3,4

Figure 2.5 : Two dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.

World Coordinate System ( WCS )

When start a new session, by default you enter the World Coordinate System (WCS).
This system consist of a horizontal X displacement, a vertical Y displacement, and a
Z displacement that is perpendicular to the XY plane. The Z displacement is used for
3D drawing. All X,Y and Z coordinate values are measured from the origin. The
origin is located at the intersection of X, and Y axes (0,0). The origin is originally
located in the lower left corner of a drawing. The WCS cannot be redefined, and all
other user coordinate system are based on the WCS.

User Coordinate System ( UCS )

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The User Coordinate System ( UCS ) lets you establish your own coordinate
origin. The UCS is movable, meaning that the origin can be moved to any desired
orientation and its axes can be rotated. The UCS icon is displayed by default in the
lower left corner of the drawing window. The icon is used to help better
understanding the location and orientation of the movable UCS. The X and Y arrows
point in the positive direction of the axis. The W in the following figure indicates the
WCS is current. The UCS icon is shown in the following figure:

Figure 2.6 : UCS icon

Method for invoking the UCS command include:

Toolbar : Standard
Menu : Tools > UCS
Command : UCS

Relative Cartesian Coordinate Input.

A relative Cartesian coordinate is entered as the X and Y distance from the
last point you specified. Use relative X,Y coordinate when you know the position of
a point in relation to the previous point. For example, to locate a point at a relative
direction of 4,5 from the first point specified, precede the next coordinate with the @
symbol. The following example demonstrate how to enter a relative coordinate:

At the command prompt, enter line.

In response to the From point command prompt, enter 0,0
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In response to the To point command prompt, enter @4,5.

Figure 2.7 : example to entering relative coordinate

Polar Input

A polar coordinate is entered as a relative distance and angle from an absolute

coordinate or the last point specified.
To enter a polar coordinate, enter a distance and an angle, separated by an
angle bracket (<). For example to specify a point that is at a distance of 2.5 units
from the previous point and an angle of 45 degree, enter @ 2.5 < 45.
By default, angles increase in the counterclockwise direction and decrease in
the clockwise direction. To move clockwise, enter a negative value for the angle. For
example, entering @3<-45 is the same as entering @3<315.
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Figure 2.8 : Polar coordinate angles

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ACTIVITY 2a

ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS BELOW.

2.4

figure 3.7

a) Refer to the figure 3.7, determine

1) the polar coordinate of Point “E” from Point “D”
2) the absolute coordinate of the center of circle “I”
3) the polar coordinate of Point “A” from Point “H”
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b. Supply the appropriate absolute, relative and/or Polar coordinates for these
`figure in the matrix below each object.

4 5

3
2 6 7

15 11
14
10
13 12

1/17 16 9 8
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FEEDBACK TO ACTIVITY 2b

ANSWERS
2.4
a)
1. @4 < 90°
2. 6,10
3. @12 < 270° / @12 < -90°

b)

0.5,5.0 @ 0, 5.0 @5 <90

2.5 , 5.0 @ 2.0, 0 @ 2<0
2.5 , 7.0 @ 0, 2.0 @ 2 < 90
9.5 , 7.0 @ 7.0 , 0 @7<0
9.5 , 5.0 @ 0 , -2.0 @ 2 < 270
11.5 , 5.0 @ 2.0 , 0 @2<0
11.5 , 0.5 @ 0 , -5.0 @ 5 < 270
10.0 , 0.5 @ -1.5 , 0 @ 1.5 < 180
10.0 , 3.5 @ 0 , 3.5 @ 3.5 < 90
6.8 , 3.5 @ -3.3 , 0 @ 3.3 < 180
6.8 , 2.5 @ 0 , -1.0 @ 1 < -90
5.0 , 2.5 @ -1.5 , 0 @ 1.5 < 180
5.0 , 3.5 @ 0 , 1.0 @ 1 < 90
2.0 , 3.5 @ -3.3 , 0 @ 3.3 < 180
2.0 , 0.5 @ 0 , 3.5 @ 3.5 < 270
0.5 , 0.5 @ -1.5 , 0 @ 1.5 < 180
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SELF- ASSESSMENT

ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS BELOW

QUESTION 2-1

a) List all the way to create the drawing by coordinate entry.

b) Explain the methods to entering command.

QUESTION 2-2

a) Construct one-view drawings of the following figure using the LINE command
along with coordinate or direct distance modes.
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b) Complete the table below with Absolute and Relative Coordinate according to
figure below.
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FEEDBACK TO SELF-ASSESSMENT

ANSWERS.

QUESTION 2-1.
a) CREATING DRAWING BY USING COORDINATE ENTRY
AutoCAD provides various commands that you use to locate points in the drawing
plane. You can create a drawing by using Direct Distance entry, Absolute
Coordinates, Relative Coordinates, and Polar entry methods.

b) There are three possible methods for entering commands in AutoCAD depending on
your preferences setting ( for the screen menu ). Generally any one of the three
methods can be used to invoke a particular command.

1. Keyboard Type the command name, command alias, or

accelerator ( Ctrl ) keys at the keyboard
2. Pull-Down Menu Select the command or dialog box from a pull-down
menu.
3. Toolbars Select the command or dialog box by PICKing an icon
( tool ) from a toolbar

2-2
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b)

2.0 , 3.75 @ 0 , 1.75

2.5 , 3.75 @ 0.5 , 0
2.5 , 4.50 @ 0 , 0.5
4.5 , 4.5 @ 2.0 , 0
5.5 , 4.0 @ 1 , -0.5
5.5 , 3.0 @ 0 , -1
4.5 , 0 @ -1 , -1
2.0 , 2.0 @ 2.5 , 0

3.65 , 3.25 3.65 , 3.25