AutoCAD - Drawing Commands — David Barbarash

How to use this card

This is a reference, not a tutorial. Each command description covers what it does and when it earns its place in a workflow — not which buttons to click to execute it. The command line tells you what's needed as you go. The goal here is knowing which command to reach for and why.

Drawing commands

Alias	Command	What it does and when to use it
PL	PLINE	Draws connected polylines with line and arc segments. `PL + A` switches to arc mode. `PL + C` closes to start point. The only drawing command for site boundary geometry.
C	CIRCLE	Draws a circle. Use for tree canopies, fountain basins, circular site elements. Three-point and two-point options allow construction from known geometry.
REC	RECTANG	Draws a rectangle as a single closed polyline — faster than four lines and produces clean geometry automatically. Use for building footprints, rectangular planting beds, parking spaces.
A	ARC	Draws a standalone arc. Use when an arc is needed independently rather than as part of a polyline. `JOIN` to connecting lines on the same layer to create a complex polyline.
EL	ELLIPSE	Draws an ellipse. Use sparingly in plan drawing — elliptical site geometry is typically harder to build in the real world than it looks on paper. Ellipses cannot be OFFSET without creating evil SPLINES.

Editing commands

Alias	Command	What it does and when to use it
O	OFFSET	Creates a parallel copy at a specified distance. Works on polylines as a unit — offset a curb centerline to get both edges simultaneously. Essential for any parallel site element.
TR	TRIM	Removes portions of objects beyond a cutting edge. `TR + Enter` selects all visible objects as cutting edges — then click what to remove. Used with EXTEND to clean every intersection.
EX	EXTEND	Extends objects to a boundary. `EX + Enter` selects all visible objects as boundaries. The companion to TRIM.
F	FILLET	Connects two lines or polyline segments with a radius arc, or extends them to a sharp intersection. `F + R` sets radius. `R = 0` creates a sharp corner. Critical for curb returns and path intersections. Don't forget to enter units when defining radii.
CO	COPY	Copies selected objects. Multiple mode allows sequential copies from the same base point — use for placing plant symbols along a path.
M	MOVE	Moves selected objects. Always snap the base point to a geometrically meaningful location — not an arbitrary click point.
RO	ROTATE	Rotates objects around a base point. Reference option allows rotation relative to a known existing angle — use when aligning to a non-cardinal geometry.
SC	SCALE	Scales objects uniformly. Reference option scales by a known ratio — how you resize an XREF that arrives at the wrong scale.
MI	MIRROR	Creates a mirrored copy across a defined axis. Useful for symmetrical planting layouts, bilateral site elements.
AR	ARRAY	Creates rectangular, polar, or path-based arrays. Path array is particularly useful for street trees at equal spacing along a curved alignment.
PE	PEDIT	The polyline editor. Indispensable — closes open polylines, joins separate segments, adjusts width, edits individual vertices. If a polyline is wrong, PEDIT fixes it.
MA	MATCHPROP	Copies properties (layer, linetype, lineweight, color) from a source object to target objects. The fastest way to move objects to the correct layer after placing them on the wrong one.
X	EXPLODE	Breaks a block, polyline, or hatch into its components. Use with caution — exploding a block destroys the reference to the block definition.

Inquiry commands

Alias	Command	Use for
DIST	DIST	Measures the distance and angle between two picked points. Use to verify object dimensions and drawing scale.
LIST	LIST	Reports object properties including layer, length, area (for closed polylines), and coordinates.
ID	ID	Returns the XYZ coordinates of a picked point. Use to verify insertion points and origin alignment.

Try this

Draw a simple parking lot: a rectangular boundary using REC, parking stalls using OFFSET and ARRAY, an entry drive with a curb return using PLINE and FILLET, and a planting island using PLINE with a closed arc segment. Do it entirely from the command line. No ribbon. When you're finished, LIST the planting island polyline and note its area.

What breaks

TRIM without a defined cutting edge — using TR + Enter works efficiently but requires knowing what you're trimming to. When geometry is dense, zoom in so you can see exactly which edge is doing the cutting.

FILLET with the wrong radius — check your current fillet radius (F + R to see and set it) before every fillet operation. A previously set radius of 25' left active will produce unexpected results on a 1' detail. Don't forget to enter units when defining radii.

SCALE without a reference — if you type a scale factor but aren't certain of the correct number, use the Reference option: pick two points at a known distance, then type the actual distance. AutoCAD solves the factor.