Symbology

The following symbols or abbreviations are used throughout this text to symbolize certain actions or keys:

<RET> Return Key; also known as "Carriage Return" or "Enter" key

<Ctrl> Control key: a special key, which, when depressed along with other keys, changes the meaning of those keys

^ Same as <Ctrl>

^C  (keys have to be depressed at the same time)  Known as "Control-C" or the Windows Copy command.   This combination of keys will copy any highlighted or picked object to the Windows "clipboard" ready to be "pasted" into another file.

^V  (keys have to be depressed at the same time)  Known as the Windows moVecommand.  This combination of keys will move - that is, "paste" anything (including graphics) from the Windows clipboard into the current file at the cursor location.

^X  (keys have to be depressed at the same time)  Known as the Windows Cut command.  This combination of keys will remove any highlighted or picked object to the Windows "clipboard" ready to be "pasted" into another file.

<Alt> "Alternate" (called "Alt") key: another special key which changes the meaning of certain keys, like the <Ctrl> key.

<Ins> "Insert" key: a "toggle" which when depressed once, allows typing to proceed over text that already has been written, and when depressed again, "inserts" text between already written text.

<Del> "Delete" key: in most programs, the delete key will delete a character which the cursor is under; in Wordstar, the delete key will delete a character just to the left of the cursor.

<PrtSc> "Print Screen": When depressed with the shift key (the large upward-pointing arrow) this action will "dump" whatever is on the screen to the printer.

<Esc> "Escape" key: a special key which is defined differently in different programs; usually allows you to stop a program temporarily, or "escape" out of it. In AutoCAD, it will cancel the current command and bring you back to the "Command:" prompt. Two <Esc> keys in succession will remove "grips" from objects on the screen.

<Ctrl><Alt><Del> Known as the "system reset" these keys have to be depressed at the same time; this action will reboot the computer, known as a "warm boot."

  <NumLock> This is a "toggle" key; depressing it once will turn on the numbers on the "numeric keyboard" on the right side of the keyboard; depressing it again will turn on the normal operation of these keys, which are also the "cursor movement" keys.   <F1> Function key number 1 (there are twelve function keys total); these keys may have special functions assigned to them within each software program, and may do the work of several operations. In most "Windows-based" programs, including AutoCAD, depressing the <F1> key will bring up the "Help" screen.

<Caps Lock> This is a "toggle" key; similar to a shift-lock key on a standard typewriter keyboard, if depressed once, it will make all letters upper case; however numbers along the top row of keys will remain unshifted. Note that number keys have to be shifted manually in order to type the special symbols at the top of these keys.

 
Bold Sans Serif Typestyle  Commands that you will be entering at the keyboard or picking from a menu.

Bold Serif Typestyle   On-screen prompts from the AutoCAD program

Italic Typestyle   Author's commentary to the user explaining a prompt or directing a certain action in response to a prompt.