Geometry
Create basic geometric objects such as lines, polylines, circles, and rectangles.
In the desktop version of AutoCAD, you can create a lot of different types of geometric objects, but you only need to know a few of them for most 2D drawings. The AutoCAD web app doesn't have the seemingly infinite geometric drawing options that the desktop version of AutoCAD does, but it does include the tools and commands you need for 2D drawings.
Lines
The line is the most basic and common object in AutoCAD drawings. To draw a line, click the Line tool.
Alternatively, you can type LINE or just L in the Command line, and then press Enter or the Spacebar.
Notice the prompt in the Command line says, "Specify first point:"
To specify the starting point for the line, you can click in the drawing area, and to specify additional points, you can keep clicking in the drawing area. Or, to specify a line of a precise length, you can use Dynamic Input to specify the length of the line. The below image highlights the Dynamic Input field.
Once you've specified the starting point of the line, a text input will display at the cursor. This is called "Dynamic Input."
Point the cursor in the direction you want, type in the distance of the line, then press Enter. You can also press Tab on your keyboard to toggle between the length of the line and the angle.
After you specify the next point, the LINE command automatically repeats itself, and it keeps prompting you for additional points. Press Enter, Spacebar, or Esc to end the sequence.
Circles
The default option of the CIRCLE command requires you to specify a center point and a radius. Click CIRCLE in the command palette, or you can enter CIRCLE or just C on the command line.
- Click to specify the start point of the circle.
- The command prompt says, "Specify radius of circle or [Diameter]." Type in the desired radius and press Enter. Or, click [Diameter] and then type in the desired Diameter and press Enter.
Polylines and Rectangles
A polyline is a connected sequence of line or arc segments that is created as a single object. They're a lot like lines, except that polylines are all one connected object. Use the PLINE command to create polylines.
Polylines can be open or closed. Once you create at least two line segments of a polyline, you can type C and press Enter to close the polyline, meaning the last segment will end at the start point of the first segment you created.
A fast way to create closed rectangular polylines is to use the RECTANGLE command (enter REC in the Command line).
Simply click two diagonal points for the rectangle. Or, use dynamic input to specify the two sides. Type in the length of the horizontal sides, press Tab, type in the length of the vertical sides, and then press Enter.