Command line
The command line is the strip at the bottom of the window. Use it to start tools by name, answer a tool's prompts, and enter exact coordinates. For the full list of commands, see the Command reference.
Typing a command
Press any printable key while the drawing has focus and the command line takes it, so you can simply start typing. Type a command name or its short alias (for example L for LINE, C for CIRCLE, TR for TRIM) and press Enter. Names are not case-sensitive. In the app: Help ▸ Show me
If the text is neither a command nor a coordinate, the program shows Unknown command "..." as a message and records it in the command history.
Tip
If you type while a menu, dialog or other text box has focus, the key goes there instead. Click the drawing first.
The prompt
The prompt to the left of the input box says what the active tool wants next, for example LINE specify first point. When no tool is running it is blank and the history shows it as Command:. In the app: Help ▸ Show me
Some prompts list option keywords in square brackets, such as [Distance/Radius/aNgle/ARea/eXit]. Type the keyword or its capital letters and press Enter. A prompt can also show a default in angle brackets, such as <Window>, which is what you get if you just press Enter. Typed text goes to the active tool first, so inside a tool a word such as U or C is read as that tool's option, not as a command.
Finishing, repeating and cancelling
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enter | Finishes the current tool or step (ends a selection, finishes a polyline). |
| Right-click | The same as Enter in a running tool. A few tools use it to cancel or to place. |
| Space | The same as Enter only where a tool takes it, such as grip editing and symbol placement. In other places it types a space. |
| Enter on an empty line, with no tool running | Repeats the last tool you used. |
| Esc | Cancels the running tool and clears the input box. |
| ↑ / ↓ | Recalls earlier inputs (see below). |
Note
Selecting is not a tool run, so repeating skips it: Enter repeats the last drawing or modify tool, not Select.
Recalling earlier inputs
With an empty input box, press ↑ to bring back the previous thing you typed and keep pressing it to go further back. ↓ goes forward again and, past the newest input, leaves the box empty. Repeated identical entries are stored once.
Entering coordinates
When a tool asks for a point, you can type it instead of clicking. Use . for decimals.
| Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
x,y |
Absolute point, for example 100,50. |
x,y,z |
The third number is checked and then ignored, because drawing is 2D. |
@dx,dy |
Relative to the last point, for example @10,0. |
distance<angle |
Polar from the origin, angle in degrees. |
@distance<angle |
Polar from the last point, for example @25<45. |
distance |
A bare number goes that far from the last point in the direction of the cursor. |
Angles follow the drawing's angle base and direction settings (the ANGBASE and ANGDIR header values), so 0 may not point along +X in every drawing.
Distance along the tracking line
When object snap tracking or polar tracking shows a tracking line and the cursor is on it, a bare number is measured along that line from the tracking point, not from the last point. Type 1250 and press Enter to land exactly 1250 units along the line. See Drafting aids and Object snaps.
Feet and inches
In a drawing whose units are inches or feet, you can type lengths such as 12', 12'6", 12'-6", 6-1/2" or 1/2" in any position where a length is expected, including inside a coordinate pair (@12',6"). Inch drawings give the result in inches and foot drawings in feet. In other units these forms are not accepted.
Decimal comma
If the text contains a semicolon, the semicolon separates the two numbers and a comma becomes a decimal comma. So 1,5;2 means x = 1.5, y = 2. Without a semicolon, the comma separates x from y.
Tip
You can mix typing and clicking in the same command, for example click the first point of a line and type @100<0 for the second.
Command history
Everything you type, with the prompt it answered, and messages such as ID and LIST results and errors, are kept in the command history. The last three lines float over the bottom of the drawing; clicks and the mouse wheel pass through them to the drawing.
To see more, press F2 or choose View ▸ Panels ▸ Command history. The history opens upward to about twelve lines. You can select text in it, and Copy copies the whole history to the clipboard. Press F2 or Esc, or click the close button, to collapse it and return the keyboard to the drawing. The window keeps the latest 500 lines, shared by all open drawings.