Getting to Know AutoCAD - AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011: No Experience Required - page 12

Below the command window is the status bar (see Figure 1.13).
FiGuRE 1.13 The left side of the status bar (top) and the right side of the status bar
(bottom)
On the left end of the status bar, you'll see a coordinate readout window. In
the middle are 14 buttons (LT has only 11) that activate various drawing modes.
It's important to learn about the coordinate system and most of these drawing
aids (Snap Mode, Grid Display, Ortho Mode, Object Snap, and so on) early as you
learn to draw in AutoCAD. They will help you create neat and accurate drawings.
You'll have the chance to explore each of the following drawing modes/aides
throughout this topic; as a preview, however, following is a complete list with a
brief description of each:
infer Constraints When this is enabled, AutoCAD will automatically apply con-
straints between objects as you create or modify them.
Snap Mode Restricts movement of the cursor inside the drawing area to speci-
fied intervals.
Grid Display Mimics a piece of graph paper by displaying a series of nonplot-
ting horizontal and vertical lines displayed in the drawing's background.
ortho Mode Restricts movement of the cursor to 90° intervals; 0 °, 90°, and
270° by default .
Polar tracking Frequently used in conjunction with Object Snap Tracking, Polar
Tracking is an advanced drawing tool that guides cursor movement to specified
increments along a polar angle. Its use will be introduced in Chapter 5, “Developing
Drawing Strategies: Part 2.”
object Snap Aids you in drawing objects based with geometric reference points
such as endpoint, midpoint, intersection, and so on. Mastering the use of object
snaps is critical in the creation of accurate drawings.
3D object Snap Similar to the standard object snaps, with more sophisticated
tools for working and interacting with 3D faces and edges.
object Snap tracking An advanced drafting method introduced in Chapter 5,
this allows you to draw objects with specific geometric relationships to other
objects within your drawing.