Autodesk Autosketch 9 Upgrade (EN) 00309-091408-9300 User Manual

Basic Features and Functionality

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Before you use AutoSketch, there are important features and functionality 
that you should understand. Understanding the concepts in the following 
sections is the key to a successful experience of doing this book’s exercises. It 
is strongly recommended that you read this material carefully. Each concept 
is briefly defined here and described in detail afterward.

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Entity. A single object, such as a line, polygon, or symbol. 

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Properties. An item of information assigned to an entity. Properties 
include geometry, layer, pen, pattern, and so on. 

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Scale. The ratio between the size of an entity in its scaled output and the 
size of the real-world object it represents. For example, if an entity that is 
1/4 inch long in its scaled output represents a real-world object that is 1 
foot long, the drawing scale is 1/4"=1'0".

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Coordinates. A pair of numbers that together specify the location of a 
point in your drawing.

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Drawing Origin. The point that serves as a location reference for all 
entities in the drawing. The x- and y-axes cross at the drawing origin. The 
coordinates of the drawing origin are 0,0.

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Reference Grid. An on-screen drawing aid consisting of a snap grid and a 
pattern of lines, crosses, or dots that visually represent the grid.

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Grid Origin. The point from which the axes of the reference grid extend 
outward.

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Snap. A means of entering points using the mouse or keyboard. You can 
change the snap at any time during most Draw and Edit operations by typ-
ing the appropriate keyboard shortcut.

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Lock Modifiers. Four modifications that you can apply to a snap. Lock 
modifiers align input with the last point and are applied after the snap.

For detailed information about these concepts, see the Help system.