AutoCAD Command Shortcuts That’ll Help You Design Faster


One of the simplest ways to design more efficiently is by using AutoCAD command shortcuts. With shortcuts, you can quickly open tools, make modifications, draw, and more. You don’t have to waste time skimming through the toolbar searching for your next move when the most-used commands are just a couple of keystrokes away.

How many commands are there in AutoCAD?

There are 150 AutoCAD command shortcuts. Jump to the bottom of this post to view 80 of the most-used AutoCAD basic commands.

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Where are the keyboard shortcuts for AutoCAD?

To locate AutoCAD keyboard shortcuts, follow the steps below:

  1. From a new drawing, select the Manage tab.
  2. Find the Customize User Interface (CUI) editor.
  3. Select the Customization tab.
  4. In the Customization Files box, select Keyboard Shortcuts.
  5. In the Shortcuts box, click either the Copy to Clipboard or Print button to view the AutoCAD commands in a PDF.
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How to set up custom commands in AutoCAD

To set up AutoCAD custom commands, follow the steps below:

  1. Select the Manage tab.
  2. Find the Customize User Interface (CUI) editor.
  3. Select the Customization tab.
  4. In the Customization Files box, find Keyboard Shortcuts.
  5. Expand Keyboard Shortcuts.
  6. Expand Shortcut Keys.
  7. In the Command List box, select the AutoCAD command you want to create a shortcut for.
  8. Drag the command under Shortcut Keys in the Customization Files box.
  9. Click the icon to the left of the command you just dragged over.
  10. In the Properties box, click Access.
  11. In the Shortcut Keys pop-up box, enter the shortcut of your choice.
  12. Click OK.

How to change commands in AutoCAD

Changing AutoCAD commands is helpful when you want to use keystrokes that are currently assigned to another command. For example, the default AutoCAD keyboard shortcut for drawing a circle is “C”. But if you use the “Copy” command more often, you may want to change “C” to be a shortcut for “Copy” instead.

To change AutoCAD commands, follow the steps below:

  1. Select the Express Tools tab.
  2. Select Command Aliases.
  3. Click the Add button to create a new shortcut.
  4. In the New Command Alias pop-up box, enter an Alias or shortcut and select an AutoCAD command from the drop-down list.
  5. Click OK.
  6. To overwrite the current default shortcut, click Yes.
  7. Click OK.

To remove an AutoCAD command, follow the steps above and select Remove rather than Add.

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List of AutoCAD commands

General Shortcuts   
  Saves current drawing 
Ctrl + D  Toggle coordinate display 
Ctrl + G  Toggle grid 
Ctrl + H  Toggle pick style 
Ctrl + E  Cycle isometric planes 
Ctrl + F   Toggle running object snaps 
Ctrl + I  Toggle coords 
E  Remove objects from a drawing 
x  Breaks down a compound object 
J  Join similar objects to form one object 
D  Create and modifies dimension styles 
G  Create saved sets of objects  
Z  Zoom 
ESC  Cancel current command 

 

Manage Screen Shortcuts   
Ctrl + 0 (zero)  Clean screen 
Ctrl + 1  Open property palette 
Ctrl +2   Design center palette 
Ctrl + 3  Open tool palette 
Ctrl + 4  Open sheet set palette 
Ctrl + 6  Open DBConnect Manager 
Ctrl + 7  Open markup set manager palette 
Ctrl + 8  Open quick calc 
Ctrl + 9  Open command-line 

 

Toggle Drawing Shortcuts   
F1  Display help 
F2  Toggle text screen 
F3  Toggle object snap mode 
F4  Toggle 3DOsnap 
F5  Toggle isoplane 
F6  Toggle dynamic UCS 
F7  Toggle grid mode 
F8  Toggle ortho mode 
F9  Toggle snap mode 
F10  Toggle polar mode 
F11  Toggle object snap tracking 
F12  Toggle dynamic input mode 

 

General Drawing Shortcuts 
Ctrl + N  New drawing 
Ctrl + S  Save drawing 
Ctrl + O  Open drawing 
Ctrl + P  Plot dialog box 
A  Draw an arc with three points 
B  Open block dialogue box to make a block 
BO  Draw a boundary  
I  Insert a block into a drawing 
C  Draw a circle 
EL  Draw an ellipse 
REC  Draw a rectangle 
PL  Draw a polyline 
POL  Draw a polygon 
L  Draw a line 
ML  Draw multi lines 
DO  Draw a solid donut shape 
DT  Single line text 
F  Draw an arc between two intersecting lines 
O  Offset an object by the distance 
RAY  Construction line in one direction 

 

Formatting Shortcuts   
AP  Open application load dialogue box 
BE  Open the edit block definition dialogue box 
BH  Open hatch and the gradient dialogue box 
D  Open dimension style manager dialogue box 
DC  Open the design center 
LA  Open layer manager 
LT  Open line type manager 
LTS  Change the line type scale 
LW  Open line weight settings dialogue box 
MA  Match properties of an object 
OP  Launch options dialogue box 
SSM  Open sheet set manager palette 
ST  Open text style dialogue box 
TP  Display tool palette 
TS  Open table style dialogue box 

 

3D Shortcuts   
3D  Command line 3D solid potions 
Box  Draw a cube 
Cylinder  Draw a cylinder 
EXT  Extrude a face 
IN  Intersect an object 
REV  Revolve an object about an axis 
RR  Open render dialogue box 
SE  Section 
SL  Slice a solid 
SU  Subtract selection from solid 
TOR  Draw torus shape 
UC  Display UCS manager dialogue box 
UCS  UCS command-line options 
VPORTS  Open viewport dialogue box 
WE  Draw a wedge 

Madie Norris Forcier
About the Author

SolidProfessor content writer and self-appointed World’s Greatest Dog Mom