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CADTutor provides the best free tutorials and articles for AutoCAD, 3ds Max and associated applications along with a friendly community forum. If you need to learn AutoCAD, or you want to be more productive, you're in the right place. See our tip of the day to start learning right now!
Free Tutorials and More…
The Tutorials section provides over 100 original tutorials for AutoCAD, 3ds Max and other design applications. Michael’s Corner is an archive of productivity articles that brings you the best AutoCAD tips and tricks. Our Forum is a lively community where AutoCAD users can ask questions and get answers. The Downloads area provides free AutoCAD blocks, free AutoLISP routines and free images.
Tutorials of the Moment
Recently viewed tutorials
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Scene Setup
Before attempting to create a scene it is important to understand global settings pertaining to any scene that will make modelling more efficient together with settings that pertain to individual scenes and stages in scene development. This tutorial explains Viewport Configuration options, Scene Settings and basic MAX / VIZ Configuration. Format: Text/Image
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Modifying Objects
This tutorial runs through all of the modify tools, demonstrating practical examples in each case. Format: Text/Image
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AutoCAD 2010: 3D Scale & 3D Align
This tutorial introduces the 3D Scale and 3D Align tools. Although 3D Scale is a bit of a damp squib, 3D Align is very powerful and can get you out of all sorts of scrapes if you know how to use it correctly. Running time: 3min 42sec Format: Video
Last visited: less than one minute ago
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Basic 3D and Surface Modelling
Although AutoCAD has a number of commands for creating special 3D objects, a lot can be achieved by changing the properties of basic 2D objects like polylines. This tutorial provides a basic introduction to creating and viewing 3D objects. Format: Text/Image
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Preparing an AutoCAD drawing for 3D
This tutorial explains the main issues to consider when drawing in AutoCAD and preparing a drawing for use in 3D work. Format: Text/Image
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AutoCAD 2010: The User Interface - Part 3
This video tutorial completes your guided tour of the AutoCAD 2010 user interface. Running time: 4min 04sec Format: Video
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CADTutor Tutorials
Our tutorials are comprehensive but straightforward introductions to AutoCAD and related software. They are designed to help beginners get to grips with design workflows as quickly as possible. There are over 100 to choose from, some text/image based and others in video format. Whatever stage you are at in your learning, you should find a tutorial to help.
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CADTutor Forums
Our forum is a vibrant community of experts and beginners. The main focus is helping beginners get to grips with AutoCAD and to help more advanced users become more productive. The AutoLISP forum is one of the busiest out there, providing expert advice for busy professionals.
AutoCAD Productivity
“Best of” Basics: Irregular Viewport
From: AutoCAD Productivity Articles #145
Originally published: April 2016
When you need a viewport shape other than a rectangle, the first order of business is to be able to view the objects in Model Space at the desired scale. From there, you can create a polyline to essentially ‘crop’ the objects in Model space, then turn it into a viewport.
The best drawing for testing this is in the path…
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 20xx\Sample\Database Connectivity
If you have AutoCAD 2014 or prior, the drawing name is db_samp.DWG
If you have AutoCAD 2015 or later, the drawing name is Floor Plan Sample.DWG
How to Create an Irregular Shaped Viewport
Right-click on a layout tab and make a new layout with a large viewport.
Double-click in the viewport, then set the desired scale from the scale list on the Status bar. You may want to start with 1/64″ = 1′-0″ so you can see all of it.
Return to Paper space and create any closed polyline, spline or circle to be the viewport.
Note: If you are creating a Polyline, you must use the Close option if it is to be converted into a viewport. If you did not use the Close option, use Pedit and select the polyline, then use the Close option.
In this illustration, I created a polyline around the perimeter of the floorplan. (Ideally, this would be on a dedicated layer on which you typically create your viewports).
On the Layout tab, click Clip.
When prompted to select the ‘viewport to clip’, select the rectangular viewport.
When prompted to select the ‘clipping object’, select the polyline (or whatever object you created in Step 3, above).
AutoCAD will convert the polyline into a viewport and erase the original rectangular viewport!
See all the articles published in April 2016
Michael's Corner
Between 2003 and 2016, Michael Beall (and one or two guests) wrote almost 600 articles for CADTutor. The focus of these articles is AutoCAD productivity, and although some of them are now more than a few years old, most remain relevant to current versions of AutoCAD. The article above is just one example. Check out Michael's Corner for a full listing.
Image of the Week
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21st – 27th April 2025
This week's image is by shift1313
Software used: SolidWorks 2009
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Last Week's Image
Last week's image is by Pocket
Software used: AutoCAD 2002
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Two Weeks Ago
This image is by fahim108
Software used: AutoCAD 2007
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Three Weeks Ago
This image is by Lazarus
Software used: AutoCAD 2008
Gallery of Work
Over the years, our forum members have contributed hundreds of images, showcasing their amazing work. The images above are just a small selection that demonstrate the wide range of project types our community is involved with. Take a look at our gallery to see all the images published in the last 12 months.
Tip of the Day
Tab through commands
This tip works begining with AutoCAD 2006:
At the command line, type the first letter of the command you wish to start. Do not press the Enter key; instead, press the Tab key repeatedly and watch as AutoCAD runs through an alphabetical list of all commands, beginning with the letter you first typed. When the right command appears in the command line, press Enter to start it.
This isn't a very efficient way to invoke a command but it's a great way of finding commands you never knew existed; try it yourself and you will discover that AutoCAD has a lot of commands…
Also, you can press Shift+Tab to walk back through the list.
Missed a Tip?
Did you miss yesterday's tip? Maybe you forgot to drop by or maybe you don't visit over the weekend. If so, you can now see all the tips published during the past week. Also, if you have a tip you'd like to share with us, you can post it on our forum and if we like it, we'll publish it here.