TO ADD AND REMOVE PAGES:
1. Choose Window > Pages.
2. From the palette pulldown menu (triangle in upper right corner of the palette), choose Insert Pages.
3. Indicate the number of pages you wish to add, their location in the document, and the master page on which the new pages are based.
4. Click OK.
InDesign’s features are accessed through pulldown menus, windows, and keyboard commands. InDesign is a “what you see is what you get” application, meaning that your work appears on-screen as it will fit to paper. This feature contrasts InDesign with Photoshop, where you must perform a preview to see how your work will fit on paper, and with AutoCAD, where formatting (in layout space) is performed separately from drawing (in model space).
The Tools window appears automatically when you create a new publication. If you lose the toolbox, choose Window > Tools. The Control window is usually docked at the top of the screen; it is accessed with Window > Control.
ZOOMING AND PANNING.
1. Choose the Zoom tool from the Tools window.
2. Click once within the document to zoom in; hold down the alt key while clicking to zoom out. (In Windows, click ctrl-plus (+) to zoom in, or ctrl-minus (-) to zoom out; click ctrl-zero (0) to fit the page to the screen. For Mac, substitute option for ctrl.)
3. Use the scroll bars on the right and bottom edges of the window to pan across the page.
MOVING BETWEEN PAGES.
Choose Window > Pages for a preview of the pages in your document.
To switch to a certain page within your document, select the page number from the pulldown list near the bottom left corner of the document window.
The parameters of every InDesign document are controlled using the Document Setup dialog box. This box appears in response to the File > New > Document command. The Document Setup box, when it initially appears, controls document parameters such as the size of pages, the total number of pages, whether pages are formatted as double-sided or not, and the positions of page margins and columns. To return to the Document Setup box after you’ve started work on a document, choose File > Document Setup.
InDesign is a page layout software application, used for management and formatting of multi-page documents.
Object snaps are used to create precise drawings. Use the [F3] key to turn the automatic object snap function on and off. When it’s on, this function automatically “locks” the drawing commands to predefined points (like endpoints and intersections of existing lines).
Type OSNAP at the command prompt to specify the points to which AutoCAD will automatically lock.
Even if the automatic object snap function is off, you can still force AutoCAD to temporarily lock to a specific point in the middle of a drawing command. While drawing, when you’re prompted to specify a point, type the first three letters of the desired snap function (e. g. END for endpoint, MID for midpoint, PER for perpendicular, etc.).
Note: The NODe object snap locks to points. Points are zero-dimensional AutoCAD objects, the appearance of which is controlled using DDPTYPE. Use the DIVIDE command to automatically draw points at a whole number of equally-spaced divisions along a line, circle, or arc; use the MEASURE command to automatically draw points at predetermined equal intervals (e. g. every inch) along a line; lock to these points with the NODe snap.
TRACKING. The object snap tracking function ([F11]) extends the functionality of the basic object snaps. The tracking function “sees” distant points as you’re drawing. When it’s on, and while you’re drawing, move the mouse (without clicking) over a point, and then move the mouse away. The [F3] key must also be “on” in order for [F11] to work.
SCREEN CONTROLS. Related: Instead of clicking [F3], you can click the OSNAP button at the bottom edge of the screen. Instead of clicking [F11], you can click the OTRACK button.
SAVING AUTOCAD DRAWINGS:
To save your work, choose [Application Menu] > Save. Always keep at least one fully updated backup copy of your work in a safe place (e. g. one copy on a flash drive and another copy stored online).
OPENING AUTOCAD DRAWINGS:
To open a saved drawing, choose [Application Menu] > Open.
DIFFERENT EDITIONS OF AUTOCAD:
If you intend to work between two different editions of AutoCAD (for example, edition 2015 at school and edition 2007 on Granny’s laptop), remember that the older edition of the software cannot read drawings produced by the newer edition unless the drawings are deliberately saved in a compatible format. To do this, choose [Application Menu] > Save As in any edition of AutoCAD; choose the appropriate format from the available list.
In AutoCAD, the [Enter] key and the space bar, for most purposes, are identical in function. (For example, typing LINE followed by Enter is equivalent to typing L followed by the space bar.)
Typing the space bar at the Command prompt after a command is completed will repeat the last command typed.
Click the [esc] (escape) key two or three times in succession will cancel any command and return to the Command prompt.
Each of the function keys has a special function in AutoCAD.
Lineweight is the visual thickness of lines. The use of lineweight is critically important to maintaining good legibility and professional appearance in drawings. See this post for general information on lineweight.
CONVENTIONAL USES FOR LINETYPES:
Dashed lines are often used to indicate items above the plan cut or in front of the section cut, or objects below or beyond a visible surface.
A “center” linetype (a repeated pattern of single long dash and single short dash) is usually used to indicate gridlines or center lines of objects or spaces.
Specialty linetypes are often used by various engineering disciplines to indicate utility routes; such linetypes often consist of a dashed or broken line annotated with the service description.
Lineweight is the visual thickness of lines. The use of lineweight is critically important to maintaining good legibility and professional appearance in drawings.
The following pair of drawings of the Robie House in Chicago illustrate conventional uses of lineweights:
LINEWEIGHT CONVENTIONS:
Discerning objects cut by a plane. Relatively heavy lineweights (e. g. in excess of 0.5 mm) are usually used to designate objects cut by a plane. For example, in a plan drawing, a lineweight of 0.5 mm might designate walls and columns; in a section drawing, the same lineweight might designate floors, walls, and the ground.
Discerning changes in observable planes. Relatively medium lineweights (e. g. 0.3 mm or so) are usually used to designate objects observed against a background. For example, in a plan drawing, a lineweight of 0.3 mm might designate a countertop, an item of furniture, stairs, a balcony edge, and so on; in a section or elevation drawing, the same lineweight might designate the outline or edge of a wall against a distant wall, or an opening in a wall. In an axonometric drawing (such as the one of the Robie House to the left), a medium or heavy line might outline solid objects against a background.
Discerning changes in material occurring on a single plane. Relatively thin lineweights (e. g. less than .1 mm) are usually used to designate changes in material occurring on a single plane. For example, in a plan drawing, a lineweight of less than 0.1 mm might designate a threshold at a door, or the spring point of a ramp; in a section or elevation drawing, the same lineweight might designate trim around a door or window.
Designating material or texture. The thinnest possible lineweight (0 mm) is often, though not exclusively, used for hatch patterns in plans, sections, and elevations. Note that 0 mm does not indicate “no line”; rather, it indicates the thinnest line producible by the selected output device.
Architectural Software 