Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Zoom
means changing the magnification of the display. When you zoom in, you
move closer to the drawing objects so you can see detail, and when you zoom out,
you move farther away so you can see more of the drawing area.
Pan
means moving from one area to another without changing the magnification. If
you've used the scroll bars in any application, you've panned the display.
Zooming and panning frequently lets you see the details better, draw more confidently
(because you can see what you're doing), and edit more quickly (because object selec-
tion is easier when a zillion objects aren't on the screen).
Fortunately, zooming and panning in AutoCAD is as simple as it is necessary. The follow-
ing steps describe how to use AutoCAD's Zoom and Pan Realtime feature, which is
pretty easy to operate and provides a lot of flexibility. Chapter 12 covers additional
zoom and pan options.
To zoom and pan in your drawing, follow these steps:
1. Right-click in a blank area of the drawing and choose Zoom from the shortcut
(right-click) menu.
The Realtime option of the ZOOM command starts. The crosshairs change to a mag-
nifying glass, and AutoCAD prompts you at the command line as follows:
Press ESC or ENTER to exit, or right-click to display shortcut
menu.
2. Move the crosshairs near the middle of the screen, press and hold the left mouse
button, and drag the mouse pointer up and down until the base plate almost fills
the screen.
As you can see, dragging up increases the zoom magnification, and dragging down
decreases it.
3. Right-click in the drawing area to display the Zoom/Pan Realtime menu (as
shown in Figure 3-10), and choose Pan from the menu.
The magnifying-glass pointer changes to a hand.
4. Click and drag to pan the drawing until the plate is more or less centered in the
drawing area.
You're not moving the plate, although it may look like it. You're moving
your viewing position while the plate stays put. Never move drawing objects if you
just want to view them from a different position.
