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
-
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: 1 minute ago
-
User Co-ordinate Systems
This tutorial describes what UCSs are, why we need them and how to use them. The correct use of UCSs with AutoCAD is the key to producing good 3D models and they can also help with 2D work. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 5 minutes ago
-
Paper Space Exercise
AutoCAD's paper space mode is a bit like having a page in a scrapbook onto which you can paste different views of your AutoCAD drawing. This whole page can then be plotted. This exercise demonstrates how. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 5 minutes ago
-
Creating and Drawing Sections
This tutorial describes how to draw sections using Key TERRA-FIRMA. The tutorial assumes that you have previously completed the Ground Modelling tutorial or that you already have a good understanding of TERRA-FIRMA ground modelling. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 6 minutes ago
-
AutoCAD 2010: Getting Ready for 3D
This video tutorial describes how to prepare the AutoCAD 2010 user interface (UI) ready for a 3D drawing project. Running time: 2min 23sec Format: Video
Last visited: 6 minutes ago
-
Animation
Design visualisation animation generally involves animation of cameras in walkthrough, panaround or flyover movies to give the client a much richer and more informative view of the design. This tutorial covers the basics. 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
Currently Active Topics
Segments of polylines
by Artem
13 replies
Last post: 8 hours ago
Hybrid parallel
by PGia
139 replies
Last post: 18 hours ago
Penn Foster Drafting With AutoCAD Structural Drafting Project Sheets 1-7
by CADLEARNER1234
3 replies
Last post: 21 hours ago
Empty Toolbox When Configuring?!
by shinojitsu
4 replies
Last post: 29 hours ago
autocad freezing upon opening
by mas
5 replies
Last post: 29 hours ago
How can I write the code for a batch fillet plugin for images like this?
by amook147
4 replies
Last post: 38 hours ago
This Week's Hot Topics
Get point from txt or excel file
by maahee
7 replies
Viewed: 297 times
How can I write the code for a batch fillet plugin for images like this?
by amook147
4 replies
Viewed: 317 times
Drawing Name to Layout Tab
by SLW210
3 replies
Viewed: 307 times
Penn Foster Drafting With AutoCAD Structural Drafting Project Sheets 1-7
by CADLEARNER1234
3 replies
Viewed: 174 times
generate 3 viewports and align UCS
by leonucadom
1 reply
Viewed: 337 times
Label the midpoint of an alignment
by CharlieDFW
1 reply
Viewed: 222 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
Use the INSERT Osnap on Blocks
From: AutoCAD Productivity Articles #134
Originally published: June 2014

In Michael's Corner February 2013 I covered the use of the Insert object snap for text. It also happens to be the Osnap you can use for Blocks.
When you need to snap to the insertion point of a block, I don't bother to set it as an Osnap since it's such a seldom-used feature. When the time comes, simply Shift + Right-click to display the Osnap shortcut menu, then click Insert or use the ‘INS’ keyboard shortcut.
See all the articles published in June 2014
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
-
26th January to 1st February 2026
This week's image is by arjun_samar
Software used: 3ds Max with V-Ray and Photoshop
-
Last Week's Image
Last week's image is by Alex Moiceanu
Software used: SolidWorks 2011
-
Two Weeks Ago
This image is by arjun_samar
Software used: 3ds Max with V-Ray and Photoshop
-
Three Weeks Ago
This image is by tutt
Software used: AutoCAD Architecture 2011
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
AutoCAD's Spell Checker
You can spell check one or more blocks of text using AutoCAD's in-built spell checker. Select from the pull-down menu or just type SPELL at the command line. When prompted, select as many blocks of text as you like and then hit the Enter key. What you get is the Check Spelling dialogue box, which works in exactly the same way as the spell checker in Microsoft Word.
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.