Coordinate Entry with Dynamic Input

Have you ever tried entering a coordinate value only to get an unexpected result? Chances are, you have worked with coordinates as they are one of the fundamental pieces of information required by most commands in AutoCAD to create or modify objects. This article looks at entering coordinates and the impact Dynamic Input has on coordinate entry.

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AutoCAD accepts the following coordinate value types:

How you enter those coordinate value types depends on two factors:

What’s Dynamic Input?

Before we talk about coordinate entry, we need to talk about Dynamic Input. Dynamic Input is a feature that allows you to enter coordinate, length, and angular values near the crosshairs along with text strings and command options.

When a command is started, and if Dynamic Input is enabled, the main prompt of the current command is repeated near the crosshairs along with several tooltips that accept input. For example, if you start the CIRCLE command, AutoCAD prompts for a coordinate value to define the center point of the circle.



Here are the steps you would follow to draw a circle with a center point of 3.5,5 and a radius of 1.25 using Dynamic Input:

Steps Results
  1. Start the CIRCLE command. Find

    AutoCAD prompts you for a coordinate value that represents the center point of the circle. Three tooltips are displayed with focus set to the second tooltip which represents the X coordinate value.

  1. In the second tooltip, type 3.5 followed by a comma.

    The focus moves to the third tooltip which represents the Y coordinate value.

  1. In the third tooltip, type 5 and press Enter.

    The absolute coordinate value of 3.5,5 is used as the center point of the circle and the next prompt of the CIRCLE command is displayed in the Dynamic Input tooltip.

    Note: Instead of pressing Enter to specify a 2D coordinate value, you could have typed a comma and then entered a number for the Z coordinate value.
  1. In the tooltip, type 1.25 for the radius of the circle and press Enter.

    A circle with a center point of 3.5,5 is drawn with a radius of 1.25.

In the previous example, you could have done one of three things at the Specify radius of circle prompt:

When you were prompted for the radius of the circle, did you notice the icon with the downward arrow at the end of the tooltip?

This icon indicates there are other options available. When prompted for a radius, clicking the downward arrow or pressing the Down Arrow key, displays a menu with the Diameter option. Choosing Diameter allows you to specify a diameter for the circle instead of a radius value. When the menu is displayed, you can move through the available options by pressing the Down and Up Arrow keys or the pointing device.



Turning Dynamic Input On or Off

Dynamic Input is turned on by default and can be toggled on or off by clicking the Dynamic Input icon () on the status bar or pressing F12. When on, the Dynamic Input icon should appear with a blue background ( Find).

Note: If the Dynamic Input icon isn’t displayed on the status bar, on the far-right side of the status bar, click Customization ( Find) > Dynamic Input.

Enter Coordinate Values with Dynamic Input

When using Dynamic Input, the first coordinate value you specify for a command is assumed to be absolute unless specified otherwise.

The following explains how to enter coordinate values in Dynamic Input tooltips:

Note: Entering coordinate values directly at the Command prompt in the Command Line window varies slightly from entering coordinate values in the Dynamic Input tooltips. If you want to enter an absolute value at the Command prompt, you don’t need to use the # prefix and all coordinate values entered are assumed to be absolute unless otherwise specified.

In this exercise, you draw a rectangle with line segments by entering absolute, relative, and polar coordinates using Dynamic Input.

Steps Results
  1. On the ribbon, click Home tab > Draw panel > Line. Find

    The LINE command is started.

  1. At the Specify first point prompt, enter #22.5,30.

    This defines the first point of the line at an absolute coordinate of 22.5,30 on the current working plane.

  1. At the Specify next point prompt, enter 22,0.

    This defines a point 22 units along the X axis and 0 units along the Y axis relative to the first point, resulting in a horizontal line that is 22 units long.

    Note: If a horizontal line isn’t drawn, enter u to undo the previous line segment and enter @22,0. See the Control Dynamic Input section for information.
  1. At the Specify next point prompt, enter 6<90.

    This defines a point 6 units away from the previous point at an angle of 90 degrees from the X axis, resulting in a vertical line that is 6 units long.

    Note: If you had typed -6, the vertical line would have been drawn downward at an angle of 90 degrees from the X axis.
  1. At the Specify next point prompt, enter #22.5,36.

    This defines an absolute coordinate of 22.5,36 which is 6 units above the original point on the Y axis, resulting in a horizontal line that is 22 units long.

  1. At the Specify next point prompt, enter c to close the rectangle and drawing the last segment to the first point specified.

    The resulting rectangle should start at 22.5,30 and have a length of 22 units and a width of 6 units.

Tips for Entering Coordinates

Control Dynamic Input

By default, the coordinate entry for the second or next point is relative to the previous point specified and the Dynamic Input tooltips are only displayed when a command is active. You can change the settings of Dynamic Input to control:

The settings for Dynamic Input can be found on the Dynamic Input tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box (DSETTINGS command). You can display the Dynamic Input tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box, by doing one of the following:



The following provides an overview of the settings on the Dynamic Input tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box:

The settings under Pointer Input impact how you enter coordinate values while Dynamic Input is active. Click Settings to open the Pointer Input Settings dialog box.



In the Pointer Input Settings dialog box, you can control the format in which the second or next point needs to be entered while using Dynamic Input. The default format settings are: Polar Format and Relative Coordinates. Setting it to Relative coordinates saves you from having to enter the @ symbol before entering the second or next coordinate value for a command.

The Visibility setting controls when the Dynamic Input tooltips are displayed. By default, they are only displayed when a command is active.

Tips for the Display of Dynamic Input Tooltips

Command Description
DSETTINGS Sets grid and snap, polar and object snap tracking, object snap modes, Dynamic Input, and Quick Properties.
System Variable Description Default Value Saved In
DYNDIGRIP Controls which dynamic dimensions are displayed during grip stretch editing. 31 Registry
DYNDIVIS Controls how many dynamic dimensions are displayed during grip stretch editing. 1 Registry
DYNINFOTIPS Controls whether tips are displayed for using Shift and Ctrl when editing with grips. 1 Registry
DYNMODE Turns Dynamic Input features on and off. 3 Registry
DYNPICOORDS Controls whether pointer input uses relative or absolute format for coordinates. 0 Registry
DYNPIFORMAT Controls whether pointer input uses polar or Cartesian format for coordinates. 0 Registry
DYNPIVIS Controls when pointer input is displayed. 1 Registry
DYNPROMPT Controls display of prompts in Dynamic Input tooltips. 1 Registry
DYNTOOLTIPS Controls which tooltips are affected by tooltip appearance settings. 1 Registry

Coordinate values are required to accurately position objects within a design. Hopefully, the next time you need to enter a coordinate value, you will be able to avoid past problems you might have had based on what you learned in this article.