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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
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Loft Mapping
This tutorial follows on from the simple Loft tutorial in Options for Creating Objects and demonstrates how to map a material along a lofted object. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 1 minute ago
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Creating Seamless Tiles
This tutorial shows you how to create perfectly seamless image tiles in Photoshop. The image tiles are perfect for creating image based materials in AutoCAD, MAX or Bryce. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 1 minute ago
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AutoCAD to Photoshop
This tutorial demonstrates a number of workflows from quick and simple to high quality. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 2 minutes ago
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AutoCAD 2010: 3D Mirror
This tutorial introduces the 3D Mirror tool. This is similar to the normal 2D Mirror tool but it enables you to define a mirror about and plane in 3D space and there are a number of command line options to help you define that plane. Running time: 3min 17sec Format: Video
Last visited: 5 minutes ago
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Dimensioning
This tutorial describes the options and commands available for dimensioning drawings and how to use them. The correct use of AutoCADs dimension tools is the key to producing clear and concise measured drawings. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 6 minutes ago
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Animating Materials: Water
Just about everything in the Brycean world can be animated, including materials. This tutorial shows you how to simulate ripples on the surface of a standard Bryce water material by modifying the offset and rotation of the texture component of the material. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 6 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
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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
Update the Source File Block Edits on the Tool Palette
From: AutoCAD Productivity Articles #139
Originally published: April 2015
Throughout the archives of Michael's Corner you will find dozens of references to tool palettes, including the key component of blocks on a tool palette: the Source File. [Coverage of the Block Source file was originally presented in March 2006.]
Scenario: You add this armless chair to the source file and put several chairs in a drawing… then you update the chair in the source file with arms.
Problem: The chair on the palette now displays arms, but the chairs in the drawing have no arms, soooo…
How to Update Drawing Blocks from the Source File
After modifying the block in the Source File, right-click on the related block on the tool palette, then click Update tool image.Now, in the drawing containing the blocks that were in the former armless state, go to the tool palette, right-click on the updated block image, then click Redefine… and all those chairs now have the updated condition with arms!
See all the articles published in April 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
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2nd – 8th November 2026
This week's image is by arjun_samar
Software used: 3ds Max with V-Ray and Photoshop
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Last Week's Image
Last week's image is by shift1313
Software used: SolidWorks 2010
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Two Weeks Ago
This image is by Oppie
Software used: AutoCAD 2011
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Three Weeks Ago
This image is by boofredlay
Software used: SketchUp and Twilight Render
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
Tab through commands
This tip works begining with AutoCAD 2006:
At the command line, type the first letter of the command you wish to start. Do not press the Enter key; instead, press the Tab key repeatedly and watch as AutoCAD runs through an alphabetical list of all commands, beginning with the letter you first typed. When the right command appears in the command line, press Enter to start it.
This isn't a very efficient way to invoke a command but it's a great way of finding commands you never knew existed; try it yourself and you will discover that AutoCAD has a lot of commands…
Also, you can press Shift+Tab to walk back through the list.
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.