Subtitles of the Movie

We're now going to look at Dynamic Input in AutoCAD. Dynamic Input has been in AutoCAD since AutoCAD 2006 and the functions are the same as in AutoCAD 2009. So what we're going to look at here is how Dynamic Input works, what it gives you is an on screen Command Interface allowing you to work in the drawing area inputting information in the drawing area rather then down here on the Command Line where I might type in the Line Command like so and press Enter. On the Command Line there its prompting me for the first point, now what I might do there is type in a coordinate or perhaps use an Object Snap. Now if I go up here though into the drawing area I'm asked to specify the first point in the drawing area and I can look at my design while I'm working on the Points, the Coordinates, the Angles and the inputs. If I left click now you'll notice that I'm prompted for the Length and the Angle there so I'll type in 1000 is the Length and press the tab Key on the keyboard. It then takes me to the Angle Input there, so I'll put in 0 is the Angle and press tab again. That gives me a line 1000 long, horizontally to the right. If I now left click that Line Segment is now fixed and it prompts me for the next line segment. I'm going to come out of the Line Command there and just quickly delete that line by way of just showing you that one as an example. Now the benefit of Dynamic Input when it is switched ON down here on the Status Bar there, see there's the Dynamic Input icon, if I right click and switch the Icon Setting off it's there, it's the Dynamic Input button. If I click on it and switch it off now and also go back to icons, notice the icon is off its not highlighted there. So if I now go to a Line Command now, even if I go up here to the icon on the Draw Panel I don't see anything on the screen apart from my Object Snaps. As you can see my Object Snaps are there and I can draw a line from there like that, but there's no prompting on the screen, it's all down on the Command Line. This is how old versions of AutoCAD used to work. If I switch Dynamic Input on like so and then click on the Line Command I can hover over the Object Snap and as you can see I can now work exactly by way of distance and angle. Now the Dynamic Input settings personally I don't ever change them. But if you do want to change your settings and how the Dynamic Input is displayed, it's a right click over the Dynamic Input icon or button and go to Settings and as you can see there you can Enable Pointer Input. You can enable Dimension Inputs, that's the distance and also the Dynamic Prompts like specify first point of the line. If I look at the settings here you can set your Pointer Input settings by way of Polar or Cartizen, Relative and Absolute and also the visibility of them on the screen. If I look here at the settings for Dimension Input it's showing two Dimension Input fields at a time, distance and angle. The Drafting Tooltip Appearance, you can change the colors back in the Model tab, as you can see and in the Layout Preview there. I can click on those, nothing happens there, what I have to do is go into the colors box here and I can change the colors by way of 2D Model space and Drafting Tooltips, those are the colors that need changing. So what I could do here is change the Drafting Tooltip color and also the Background color. So the Background could be a dark color with white text or a light background with dark text. I'm going to OK that, as I've said I very rarely change the settings of Dynamic Input, so I'm going to OK those settings. What I am going to look at now is performing a Command in our office drawing and what I'm going to is use the Mirror Command to mirror my furniture into the office on the right hand side. I'm going to use Object Snaps and I'm also going to watch my Dynamic Input as I go. So the Mirror Command is up here on the Modify Panel, I'm going to click on Mirror and the first thing I'm prompted, notice Dynamic Input, the Select Object prompt appears on the screen with a pit box. Notice your Command Line the Select Object prompt is still there, that does not change. You can still use the Command Line if you use, but obviously the Dynamic Input allows you to look at this information on the screen. I'm going to select my desk, my computer, my phone and my chair, I right click to Confirm those objects, I can also press Enter and the first thing it prompts me for now is the first point of the Mirror Line. So I'm getting all the prompts of Mirror Command exactly as the same as I am on the Command Line. The Mirror Line I'm going to use is this End Point Snap here, again, notice the Dynamic Input, this End Point Snap here. Again notice the Dynamic Input I'm then prompted to I wish to erase the source objects, either the objects selected in this case N for No, I don't want to, so I press Enter to accept the N for No in the box there. Again on the Dynamic Input but it's also on the Command Line and there's my mirrored object. So I now have everything set up for my two offices there and that is using the Dynamic Input. As you can see its much easier then having to keep looking down at the Command Line all the time.