AutoCAD is more than just a drafting toolโitโs the backbone of civil engineering design. From building layouts and structural details to road cross-sections and site development plans, civil engineers rely on a core set of commands every single day. Knowing these commands not only speeds up drafting but also ensures accuracy, consistency, and professional-quality output.
Below is a complete list of the most important AutoCAD commands every civil engineer should know for daily use.
Basic Drawing & Editing
LINE (L) โ Draw straight lines
POLYLINE (PL) โ Draw connected line segments
CIRCLE (C) โ Draw circles
RECTANGLE (REC) โ Draw rectangles
ARC (A) โ Draw arcs
ELLIPSE (EL) โ Draw ellipses
SPLINE (SPL) โ Draw smooth curves
POINT (PO) โ Place a point
HATCH (H) โ Fill closed areas with patterns
TEXT (T / DT) โ Add single or multiline text
XLINE / RAY โ Draw infinite construction lines or rays
DIVIDE / MEASURE โ Divide objects into equal segments or mark points
REGION โ Create a 2D region from closed objects
Modification Tools
MOVE (M) โ Move objects
COPY (CO / CP) โ Copy objects
ROTATE (RO) โ Rotate objects
SCALE (SC) โ Scale objects
TRIM (TR) โ Trim objects to boundaries
EXTEND (EX) โ Extend objects to boundaries
OFFSET (O) โ Create parallel geometry
MIRROR (MI) โ Mirror objects
STRETCH (S) โ Stretch parts of objects
LENGTHEN (LEN) โ Change object lengths
FILLET (F) โ Round object corners
CHAMFER โ Bevel the corner between two objects
ALIGN โ Align objects in 2D/3D
BREAK / BREAKATPOINT โ Break objects into pieces
JOIN โ Join line or arc segments
REVCLOUD โ Create revision clouds
Object Management
LAYERS (LA) โ Manage layers
MATCHPROP (MA) โ Match object properties
PROPERTIES (CH) โ Modify object properties
GROUP (G) โ Group multiple objects
UNGROUP (UNG) โ Ungroup grouped objects
BLOCK (B) โ Create blocks
INSERT (I) โ Insert blocks
WBLOCK โ Write a block to a separate file
EXPLODE (X) โ Break compound objects into parts
OVERKILL โ Remove overlapping lines
XCLIP โ Clip external references or blocks
LAYMRG โ Merge layers
LAYDEL โ Delete unused layers
LAYFRZ / LAYTHW โ Freeze or thaw layers
FILTER / QSELECT โ Select objects by properties
DATAEXTRACTION โ Extract block or object data
Annotation & Dimensioning
DIM (D / DIMLINEAR) โ Add dimensions
LEADER (LE / MLEADER) โ Add leader lines with text
MTEXT (T) โ Multiline text
TABLE (TB) โ Insert tables
QLEADER โ Quick leader command
TEXTEDIT (TEDIT) โ Edit text
DIMSTYLE (D) โ Manage dimension styles
ANNOTATIVE โ Annotative scaling for text and dimensions
DIMCENTER โ Add center marks or centerlines
DIMANGULAR / DIMRADIUS / DIMDIAMETER โ Specialized dimensioning
DIMREASSOCIATE โ Reconnect dimensions to geometry
FIELD โ Insert dynamic text (date, filename, etc.)
ATTDEF / ATTEDIT โ Define and edit block attributes
Viewing & Navigation
ZOOM (Z) โ Zoom in/out
PAN (P) โ Move around in the drawing
REGEN (RE) โ Regenerate the display
U โ Undo the last command
REDO (CTRL+Y) โ Redo last action
ISOLATE / HIDEOBJECTS โ Hide or isolate objects
LAYISO / LAYUNISO โ Isolate or restore layers
VIEW / VIEWPORT โ Save views or create viewports
MVIEW โ Create and manage multiple viewports
VPORTS โ Split model space into multiple views
Layout & Plotting
LAYOUT โ Switch and manage layouts
PAGESETUP โ Configure page setups for plotting
PLOT โ Print or plot drawings
EXPORTPDF / EXPORTDWF โ Export drawings to external formats
Advanced Tools & 3D
XREF (X) โ Attach external references
PURGE โ Clean unused items
AUDIT โ Check drawing for errors
OSNAP (F3) โ Object snaps for precision
GRID / SNAP โ Use grids and snaps for accuracy
EXTRUDE โ Convert 2D shapes into 3D solids
REVOLVE โ Revolve profiles into 3D objects
UNION / SUBTRACT / INTERSECT โ Boolean operations
PRESSPULL โ Push or pull solid faces
SECTION / SECTIONPLANE โ Generate sections
SLICE โ Cut 3D solids with planes
MATERIALS / RENDER โ Apply and visualize materials
GEOGRAPHICLOCATION โ Assign real-world coordinates
Utility & Cleanup
PURGE โ Remove unused layers, blocks, linetypes
AUDIT โ Repair drawing errors
RECOVER โ Restore corrupted drawings
DWGPROPS โ Document properties
DWGCONVERT โ Batch convert DWG file versions
LAYISO / LAYUNISO โ Layer isolation tools
OVERKILL โ Clean duplicate objects

Leave a Reply