Dynamic Input of AutoCAD | Learn AutoCad

If You Have Always Wondered What Dynamic Input of AutoCAD Is
By Jos Van Doorn

This is something they have added to AutoCAD 2006. In AutoCAD 2006 you now have dynamic input. It helps to stay on focused on the screen. You're not in a command. You move the cursor over the screen. The X position and the Y position of the cursor are displayed. Even better. You're in a command. What normally is displayed in the command window is now displayed next to the cursor.

Suppose you want to draw a line. You click on the Line button in the Draw toolbar. The first prompt of the line command is displayed. Next to the cursor. Behind the prompt are two numbers. Those numbers give the X position and the Y position of the cursor. Click to get the first point. The first prompt is no longer displayed. Now the next prompt is displayed. We now have two numbers. Not exactly behind the prompt.

The first number gives a distance. From the cursor to the point that we picked. And the second number gives an angle. From the first point to the cursor. We pick another point. We now come to the next prompt. That prompt is displayed next to the prompt. We can pick another point. But there is something in the prompt. There is something in each prompt that is displayed. We see the icon of a down arrow displayed in the prompt.

Press the down arrow on your keyboard. A shortcut menu shows up. All available options are in the shortcut menu. Press the down arrow again. A black dot is displayed next to the first option. If you want to invoke that option, then press the Enter key. Of course. You can keep on pressing the down arrow. You go to another option. And press the Enter key to invoke that option. Do you see? With dynamic input you can keep your eyes on the screen of AutoCAD. No need to look down into the command window.

OK. I gave an example. Using the LINE command. But if you use another command. Still the same. The prompts are displayed in the screen. There is much more to dynamic input. We will talk more about dynamic input in the other articles in this series. But allow me to make another remark. This is the first article of a series of four articles. The subjects of all articles are:
1. What Dynamic Input is.
2. Status bar. Switching on. Switching off.
3. Settings

- Enable Pointer Input

- Enable Dimension Input

- Dynamic Prompts

4. Settings

- Appearance

- Options

Jos van Doorn. AutoCAD specialsit and AutoLISPO programmer. Also writer AutoCAD articles and AutoCAD books.

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