Using object snap tracking (OTRACK) - AutoCAD Tutorial

- [Instructor] We're starting a new chapter now in our AutoCAD certified professional preparation course. We're going to have a look at how we draw with accuracy in AutoCAD. Now, I cannot stress enough that the examples I'm giving you are quite simply that, they're examples. They will not replicate what you will get in your certified professional examination. So what I'm giving you here, is the ability to review, and revise, and prepare. It will not guarantee you a pass in your exam. So for this particular chapter now, we're looking at draw with accuracy. And I've got a new drawing for you. You can see the name of it at the top of the screen, it's called draw with accuracy underscore tracking dot dwg. So you can guess by the name of the drawing file that it's going to be tracking that we're going to look at. The object snap tracking. So what we've got, is we got a side view and an end view of a small little block component with a little cutout and a hole in it. And what we're going to do is generate a plan view to the top left, above that side view. And we're going to use object snap tracking to do that. Now the lovely thing about object snap tracking is it allows you to take up to seven points concurrently and track them without having to draw construction lines. It's very quick and easy to do. So just make sure you're on the object layer initially. You can see that in the layers panel there on the home tab on the ribbon. It's in the little dropdown here. Just make sure you're using the object layer there like so. Now, what I'm going to do is go down to the status bar, just going to check the object snaps are on. Object snap tracking obviously is on. But also check that your polar tracking is on, it's always useful to have that if you need an angle to measure a line against as well. So, what we're going to do now is we're going to start drawing some lines. So we're going to go up to the draw panel on the home tab, click on the line command, and I'm going to hover over this point here. So I just hover over it, I don't click on it. I hover over it. And I drag vertically upwards and it will say extension. That means my extension snap is on. So if you don't get that, go to your objects snaps and switch your extension snap on. I'm going to type in 50 there, and enter. And you can see that my line now starts 50 above that point. Now I need the outside shape first in the plan view. So if I come across this way now, like so, and come up here, can you see it snaps again using the object snap tracking? So I've got all of that in place like so. There's my line there. So what I can do is I can press enter to finish now, and that's done. So there's my line there. So, how do I know the depth of this shape here? How do I get that to project over here? So I know how high it is? Well what I can do there, is I can draw a line and just use it as a sort of sacrificial line and I can go from this corner here. And I'll drag it up this way, make sure you get your 45 degree polar tracking, like so. And I'll click once, but make sure it goes all the way past the end of that right hand most view there. Click, and then enter to finish. So what I can do now, is I can draw another line and I can take it from here, like so. And go upwards and get an intersection there like that. Enter to finish. Let's do that from the other side as well. And I'll go from here and up to there like so. What does that give me? If I now press enter to close that line command? I can now draw some lines that basically object snap track to the end points there. Now, the good thing is, is I can take this line away. I don't actually need it. So what I'm going to do, is I'm just going to delete that. And I'm going to take my line this time, I'm going to draw the line using the line command, and I'm just going to hover over some points. If I hover there like that, and then hover over this point like that and come this way, that's where my plan view corner starts. I then hover over this point here on the 45 degree line. As I go across, it remembers, and with the polar tracking as well, I've got a line there. So there's the right hand side of my plan view. I can now start using object snap tracking in a much quicker way. Rather than just drawing that line at random like I did initially. I can just hover over each point, and you see I'm hovering and dragging using the object snap tracking. And as I come across now, I can get to the end point there, click there, enter to finish. There's the outline of my plan view. So what you've got to remember, is object snap tracking and that 45 degree line there. That's really useful. So what we can do now, is I can utilize this 45 degree line using all these lines here as well. So I can project another line up now. So I'll come off of the cutout line here, and I'll come upwards and I'll get an intersection there and click there, enter to finish. Now again, I can utilize my object snap tracking again. This is really useful, it really makes my life easier. So I go to the line command, I hover over this point here on the side view. I come up to the plan view, when I get the intersection I then click there and my line starts there. Now, I've got the cutout line here coming off of the 45 degree line. So I hover there, and as I come across, you'll see that I get a snap point again. So I click there, and all I've got to do now is take that across to there, get the intersection, click there, enter to finish. There's my cutout in plan. Now you'll also notice I've got some dash lines here. These indicate a hole through my shape here. So what I can do now, is I can project those lines up again. Now what I would do here, if I was drawing a hidden detail, I would perhaps use the hidden layer there. But I don't need to because this is in plan. So basically, this hole will now be visible. So what I do now is I go up to the line command again, and I project these lines up onto my 45 degree lines. There's one line there, spacebar or enter to repeat the line command, and there's one line there as well. And then obviously enter to finish. Now the benefit I've got here is, I can actually draw a circle if I want to. I can use a two point circle for this. So if I go up to the circle command, and I want a two point circle, as in each end of the diameter. Click there. Now, this is where you've got to think a little bit about your object snap tracking. So, specify first end point of circle's diameter. So, I need a corresponding end. Now a circle is the same all the way around. So, I can figure this out as I go. If I come up here like this, and I hover on that point there, and then hover on that point there. As I come across, can you see? I get that point there like so. And then what I can do, is I can now hover over that point there and hover over that point there. And as I come across, I should get an intersection again. Can you see? And there's my diameter indicated by the orange lines. Click one more time, and there's my circle. Now, all of the lines that are used that are sacrificial, I can get rid of. So I'll do a little crossing selection there, just delete those, and I've now got my plan view exactly in place, purely using object snap tracking.