Learn AutoCAD with our Free Tutorials
Welcome to CADTutor
CADTutor provides the best free tutorials and articles for AutoCAD, 3ds Max and associated applications along with a friendly community forum. If you need to learn AutoCAD, or you want to be more productive, you're in the right place. See our tip of the day to start learning right now!
Free Tutorials and More…
The Tutorials section provides over 100 original tutorials for AutoCAD, 3ds Max and other design applications. Michael’s Corner is an archive of productivity articles that brings you the best AutoCAD tips and tricks. Our Forum is a lively community where AutoCAD users can ask questions and get answers. The Downloads area provides free AutoCAD blocks, free AutoLISP routines and free images.
Tutorials of the Moment
Recently viewed tutorials
-
Navigation Techniques
Gaining the skill to navigate efficiently around a scene and around objects and parts of objects (sub-objects) efficiently and with ease is of paramount importance to good modelling. Most new users of MAX / VIZ need to get over this first hurdle before feeling comfortable in the 3D environment. Fear not, MAX / VIZ has a host of tools for the purpose. This tutorial descibes the most useful navigation techniques. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: less than one minute ago
-
Scene Setup
Before attempting to create a scene it is important to understand global settings pertaining to any scene that will make modelling more efficient together with settings that pertain to individual scenes and stages in scene development. This tutorial explains Viewport Configuration options, Scene Settings and basic MAX / VIZ Configuration. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: less than one minute ago
-
AutoCAD 2010: The User Interface - Part 1
This video tutorial takes you on a guided tour of the AutoCAD 2010 user interface. This is the best place to start for beginners. Running time: 3min 56sec Format: Video
Last visited: 1 minute ago
-
Uploading Files with WS_FTP
This tutorial guides you through the process of uploading your website files to a web server using the WS_FTP client. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 2 minutes ago
-
The Material Editor
The Material Editor provides functions to create and edit materials and maps. This tutorial is a basic introduction to the options available. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 4 minutes ago
-
Object Snap
A tutorial giving an overview of all the AutoCAD object snaps (osnaps) with some worked examples. The tutorial also covers the use of temporary tracking points and object snap tracking. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 4 minutes ago
CADTutor Tutorials
Our tutorials are comprehensive but straightforward introductions to AutoCAD and related software. They are designed to help beginners get to grips with design workflows as quickly as possible. There are over 100 to choose from, some text/image based and others in video format. Whatever stage you are at in your learning, you should find a tutorial to help.
Forum Latest
Currently Active Topics
Fields called from TAB Names
by adamsnez
8 replies
Last post: 37 minutes ago
Boundary command
by PGia
2 replies
Last post: 38 minutes ago
Automatically placing borehole tables with leaders without overlap
by MSHR
7 replies
Last post: 16 hours ago
RlxSplit - Split up large files
by rlx
4 replies
Last post: 16 hours ago
Civil drafting school project help
by Autocadstudent
290 replies
Last post: 40 hours ago
AutoCAD LT 2026 very slow to save
by X11start
11 replies
Last post: 42 hours ago
This Week's Hot Topics
Automatically placing borehole tables with leaders without overlap
by MSHR
7 replies
Viewed: 345 times
RlxSplit - Split up large files
by rlx
4 replies
Viewed: 256 times
Drawing space obscured by command line
by SAFeSTeR
4 replies
Viewed: 163 times
LISP CODE INSERTING ELEVATION FROM CIVIL 3D SURFACE TO 3DPOLYLINES
by darshjalal
2 replies
Viewed: 262 times
Boundary command
by PGia
2 replies
Viewed: 34 times
CADTutor Forums
Our forum is a vibrant community of experts and beginners. The main focus is helping beginners get to grips with AutoCAD and to help more advanced users become more productive. The AutoLISP forum is one of the busiest out there, providing expert advice for busy professionals.
AutoCAD Productivity
Shorten the Plot Scales List in a Viewport
From: AutoCAD Productivity Articles #140
Originally published: June 2015
If you plot from a viewport on a Layout tab, and you have a specific collection of plot scales you typically use, you may be interested in editing that list to display only the ones you need to see.
There are other approaches to accessing the same plot scale regularly, but this is one of the most straightforward.
How to Modify the List of Plot Scales
When you're in a viewport, click the location on the Status bar where you see the scale/factor for the current viewport.
Scroll to the bottom, then click Custom… to open the Edit Drawing Scales dialog box.
I would recommend keeping 1:1, but then select those plot scales you really don't need, then click Delete.
Organize the ones you use all the time by using Move Up or Move Down.

Note: If you totally gom it up, you can always hit Reset, then choose your desired collection of either Imperial, Metric, or both.
See all the articles published in June 2015
Michael's Corner
Between 2003 and 2016, Michael Beall (and one or two guests) wrote almost 600 articles for CADTutor. The focus of these articles is AutoCAD productivity, and although some of them are now more than a few years old, most remain relevant to current versions of AutoCAD. The article above is just one example. Check out Michael's Corner for a full listing.
Image of the Week
-
25th – 31st May 2026
This week's image is by Steven Leech
Software used: AutoCAD 2009
-
Last Week's Image
Last week's image is by JRevit
Software used: Revit 2009
-
Two Weeks Ago
This image is by Lazarus
Software used: AutoCAD 2009
-
Three Weeks Ago
This image is by abstracted
Software used: Inventor and 3ds Max
Gallery of Work
Over the years, our forum members have contributed hundreds of images, showcasing their amazing work. The images above are just a small selection that demonstrate the wide range of project types our community is involved with. Take a look at our gallery to see all the images published in the last 12 months.
Tip of the Day
Fillet solid objects
The Fillet command can be used to fillet solid objects as well as just the usual 2D stuff. Not only does the Fillet command fillet edges but it also correctly mitres the corners where two filleted edges meet.
Missed a Tip?
Did you miss yesterday's tip? Maybe you forgot to drop by or maybe you don't visit over the weekend. If so, you can now see all the tips published during the past week. Also, if you have a tip you'd like to share with us, you can post it on our forum and if we like it, we'll publish it here.