Autodesk AutoCAD Keyboard Shortcuts

A printable reference for the most-used Autodesk AutoCAD keyboard shortcuts (Windows + macOS, command aliases are identical). Covers common file commands, single-letter command aliases, modify commands, selection & inquiry, annotation & dimensions, view & zoom, and layers & properties.

AC

Autodesk AutoCAD AutoCAD 2024+ (Windows / macOS)

132 shortcuts

Common file commands13

  • New drawing
    CtrlN
  • Open drawing
    CtrlO
  • Save drawing
    CtrlS
  • Save As (Save Drawing As)
    CtrlShiftS
  • Plot / Print (full dialog)
    CtrlP
  • Quit AutoCAD
    CtrlQ
  • New tab (draw new tab in current session)
    CtrlTab (cycle through open drawings)
  • Close current drawing
    CtrlF4 (or via menu)
  • Find text in drawing
    CtrlF
  • Open designCenter (palette / blocks)
    Ctrl2
  • Open Properties palette
    Ctrl1
  • Open Tool palettes
    Ctrl3
  • Open Sheet Set Manager
    Ctrl4

Command aliases (single-letter shortcuts)23

  • Line
    L (or LEnter)
  • Polyline
    PL (or PLEnter)
  • Multiline (Mline)
    ML
  • Spline
    SPL
  • Rectangle
    REC
  • Circle
    C
  • Arc
    A (or ARC)
  • Ellipse
    EL
  • Polygon
    POL
  • Region (closed area)
    REG
  • Hatch (pattern fill)
    H
  • Gradient (in newer AutoCAD)
    GRADIENT
  • Block (define)
    B (or BLOCK)
  • Insert block
    I (or INSERT)
  • Write block (to disk)
    W (or WBLOCK)
  • Explode block / object
    X (or EXPLODE)
  • Multiline text (T or MT)
    T (or MT)
  • Single line text (DT)
    DT
  • Dimension (linear)
    DIM (or DLI for linear)
  • Aligned dimension
    DAL (or DALIGNED)
  • Angular dimension
    DAN (or DIMANGULAR)
  • Radius dimension
    DRA (or DIMRADIUS)
  • Diameter dimension
    DDI (or DIMDIAMETER)

Modify commands20

  • Erase (delete selected)
    E (or DELETE key)
  • Copy (select base point after)
    CO (or CP)
  • Copy with multiple offsets (nested)
    COPYMODE (in newer versions)
  • Mirror
    MI
  • Offset (curve or area)
    O
  • Array (rectangular / polar / path)
    AR (or ARRAY)
  • Move
    M
  • Rotate
    RO
  • Scale
    SC
  • Stretch (vertices inside crossing window)
    S
  • Trim (cut at intersection)
    TR
  • Extend (line / arc to boundary)
    EX
  • Break (at point)
    BR
  • Join (separate lines into one)
    J
  • Fillet (round corner)
    F
  • Chamfer (bevel corner)
    CHA
  • Align (selected to source)
    AL
  • Edit polyline (vertices)
    PEDIT (or PE)
  • Trim (multiple, shift-extend)
    Hold Shift to extend while TR
  • Match properties (copy props to other)
    MA

Selection & inquiry17

  • Select all (everything in drawing)
    CtrlA
  • Cancel current command / deselect
    Escape
  • Window selection (crossing / window)
    Clickdrag (left to right = window; right to left = crossing)
  • Add to selection (Shift)
    Shiftclick (or Shiftdrag)
  • Remove from selection (Shift on selected)
    Shiftclick on selected item
  • Lasso selection
    Hold Ctrldrag (lasso)
  • Fence selection (polygon)
    FP (or FENCE)
  • Previous selection
    CtrlShiftSpace (in selection cycling)
  • Quick select (filter by property)
    QSELECT (or FILTER)
  • Select similar objects
    SELECTSIMILAR (or SELECTSI)
  • Measure distance
    DI (or DIST)
  • Measure radius
    RA (or MEASUREGEOM)
  • Measure angle
    AN (or MEASUREGEOM)
  • Measure area
    AA (or AREA)
  • List (selected objects properties)
    LI (or LIST)
  • Properties (quick view of selected)
    MO (or PROPERTIES)
  • ID point (show coords)
    ID

Annotation, text, dimensions16

  • Single line text
    DT (or TEXT for legacy)
  • Multiline text (MTEXT)
    MT (or T / MTEXT)
  • Edit text (double-click on text)
    Double-click text
  • Scale text (modify height)
    via Properties palette (Ctrl1) or SCALE command
  • Edit dimension text (override)
    ED (or DIMEDIT)
  • Dimension style manager
    DST (or DIMSTYLE)
  • Continue dimension
    DCO (or DIMCONTINUE)
  • Baseline dimension
    DIM (or DBASELINE)
  • Leader (with annotation)
    LE (or LEADER)
  • Multileader (MLEADER)
    MLD (or MLEADER)
  • Tolerance (geometric)
    TOL (or TOLERANCE)
  • Center mark / centerline
    CENTER (or CEN / CENTERLINE / CENTERMARK)
  • Hatch edit
    HE (or HATCHEDIT)
  • Define attribute (block attribute)
    ATT (or ATTDEF)
  • Edit attribute (single)
    ATE (or ATTEDIT)
  • Update field (in text)
    CtrlF11 (in field, or via right-click)

View, zoom, pan14

  • Real-time pan (hold middle mouse button + drag)
    Hold middle mousedrag
  • Real-time zoom (hold middle scroll)
    Scroll wheel (or middle button drag up/down)
  • Zoom to extents (show all)
    ZEEnter (or double-click scroll wheel)
  • Zoom to window (selection)
    ZWEnter (or shiftleft mouse to window select, then space)
  • Zoom dynamic (live pan + zoom)
    ZDEnter (then left drag to zoom, middle drag to pan, right to exit)
  • Zoom previous (last view)
    ZPEnter
  • Zoom to a specific scale
    ZSEnter (then type scaleXP)
  • Zoom center (move cursor position)
    ZCEnter
  • Pan (real-time)
    P (then click 2 points) or hold middle mouse
  • Toggle 3D orbit (in 3D drawings)
    ORBIT command (or shiftmiddle mouse)
  • View style (conceptual / realistic / shaded)
    VS (Visual Styles)
  • Clean screen (toggle all panels)
    Ctrl0
  • Show / hide Properties / Tool Palettes
    Ctrl1 / Ctrl3 (toggle)
  • Regenerate (recompute hatch / dim)
    RE (or REGEN)

Layers, properties, settings17

  • Open Layer Properties Manager
    LA (or LAYER)
  • Make object layer current
    LAYMCUR (or click layer in LA)
  • Match object layer (set current to selected)
    LAYMCH (in newer AutoCAD)
  • Layer isolate (hide all others)
    LAYISO (or LAYERISOLATE in newer)
  • Layer unisolate (show all)
    LAYUNISO
  • Layer off / on (toggle visibility)
    LAYOFF (or click lightbulb in LA)
  • Layer freeze / thaw
    LAYFRZ / LAYTHW
  • Layer lock / unlock
    LAYLCK / LAYULK (or lock icon in LA)
  • Bring to front / send to back (draw order)
    DRAWORDER (or via right-click Draw Order)
  • Properties (selected object)
    PR (or PROPERTIES)
  • Match properties (apply props to others)
    MA (or MATCHPROP)
  • Layer previous (back to last current)
    LAYPREV
  • Options / settings dialog
    OP (or OPTIONS)
  • Units dialog
    UN (or UNITS)
  • Purge unused objects
    PU (or PURGE)
  • Audit (check for errors)
    AUDIT (or via File → Drawing Utilities)
  • Recover drawing (after crash)
    File → Drawing Utilities → Recover

Function keys (modal)12

  • Toggle Ortho mode (constrain to 90°)
    F8
  • Toggle Object Snap (Osnap)
    F3
  • Toggle Grid display
    F7
  • Toggle Dynamic Input (DYN)
    F12
  • Toggle Polar Tracking
    F10
  • Toggle Object Snap Tracking
    F11
  • Toggle Dynamic UCS (in 3D)
    F6
  • Toggle Isometric drafting (2D)
    F5 (or via draft settings)
  • Help (search docs)
    F1
  • Object snap overrides (transient, hold)
    Shiftright-click in canvas (in newer AutoCAD)
  • Command line toggle (Ctrl+9 / Cmd+9)
    Ctrl9
  • Quick calculator (in newer AutoCAD)
    Ctrl8 (or type CAL at command line)
About AutoCAD Shortcuts

Autodesk AutoCAD has been the dominant computer-aided design (CAD) tool since 1982, holding ~70% of the professional 2D drafting market. AutoCAD is unique among popular software in using single-letter and two-letter command aliases (L for Line, C for Circle, CO for Copy, MI for Mirror) that can be customized via the acad.pgp file. The keyboard map is nearly identical on Windows and macOS. This reference card covers the most-used 100+ shortcuts across 8 functional areas: Common file commands, Command aliases (single-letter), Modify, Selection & inquiry, Annotation/text/dimensions, View/zoom/pan, Layers/properties/settings, Function keys (modal). All entries are transcribed from Autodesk's official AutoCAD documentation. How to use - Pick your platform (Windows / macOS) at the top. - Search any feature name or shortcut text. - Click any row's Copy button to grab the key string. - Export PNG (2400×1140 landscape) for a wallpaper; PDF for a single A4 landscape page. Tips - L (Line), C (Circle), REC (Rectangle), PL (Polyline) are the most-used single-letter aliases — type them at the command line. - MA (Match Properties) is the most useful modify tool: copy props from one object to many others. - TR (Trim) and EX (Extend) are bread-and-butter. Shift+click during TR extends the boundary instead. - F8 (Ortho) and F3 (Osnap) are the two function keys every AutoCAD user must know. - Z + E (Zoom Extents) shows the entire drawing instantly. Z + A (Zoom All) is similar. Why this separate from other shortcuts? AutoCAD is 2D/3D technical drafting with a unique command-alias system. Mixing with other tools would dilute the specialized single-letter workflow. Splitting keeps each focused.

Disclaimer

This shortcut reference website is a third-party unofficial tool. It has no affiliation, investment, authorization, or official partnership with the trademark holders of any software products mentioned on these pages.

All shortcut information is sourced from publicly available online materials and verified through local software testing, and is provided for learning and reference purposes only. We do not guarantee absolute accuracy, completeness, or real-time compatibility with every version of the software. Shortcut behavior may differ across software versions and operating systems — please refer to the official documentation of each software as the source of truth.

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