AutoCAD Shortcuts: The Complete Cheat Sheet

Q: What are the most used AutoCAD shortcuts?

L (LINE), PL (PLINE), C (CIRCLE), REC (RECTANG), M (MOVE), CO (COPY), TR (TRIM), O (OFFSET), E (ERASE), H (HATCH), DLI (DIMLINEAR), LA (LAYER), Z then E (zoom extents), F3 (object snap on/off) and F8 (ortho). Type the alias at the command line and press Enter or Space.

Q: Do AutoCAD shortcuts work in CADCraft?

Most of the command aliases do: L, PL, C, A, REC, M, CO, TR, EX, O, F, X, H, DLI, B, I, LA, Z and others start the same commands. The function keys F3 and F5 to F12 do the same jobs. A few differ: F1 opens CADCraft’s command list instead of Help, and F4, F6, Ctrl+2 and Ctrl+0 do nothing.

Q: Can I change or add shortcuts in CADCraft?

Yes for command aliases: CADCraft loads user alias files and has the ALIASEDIT command. It does not read AutoCAD CUI or CUIx files, so ribbon and menu customisations do not carry over.

Q: Is Ctrl or Cmd used on a Mac?

In CADCraft the Ctrl shortcuts use the Command key (⌘) on macOS, for example ⌘S to save and ⌘1 for the Properties Inspector. The function keys are the same on every system.

AutoCAD keyboard shortcuts by category (draw, modify, layers, dimensions, blocks, view, object snaps, Ctrl and F-keys), with a column showing which ones work the same in free CADCraft.

Oct 25, 2026

CADCraft AI Editorial

Short answer: in AutoCAD, type the alias at the command line and press Enter or Space: L for LINE, C for CIRCLE, TR for TRIM, O for OFFSET, H for HATCH, DLI for a linear dimension. Press Enter on an empty line to repeat the last command, and Esc to cancel. The tables below list the shortcuts by category, in the order you'd use them. The last column says whether each one works the same in the free CADCraft desktop app or online editor, checked against CADCraft 0.8.0's built-in command catalogue.

cadcraft.org is an independent guide, not the official site. CADCraft is an open-source project by the ArtCraft team and isn't affiliated with Autodesk.

How to read the CADCraft column: "Same" means the same keys start the same command. "Differs" says what happens instead. "No" means CADCraft 0.8.0 has no such shortcut or command. On a Mac, CADCraft uses ⌘ wherever this page says Ctrl.

The CADCraft command line with dim typed and an AutoComplete list showing DIM, DIMARC, DIMEDIT, DIMBREAK, DIMSPACE, DIMSTYLE, DIMTEDIT and DIMJOGGED with their labels

Type the first letters at the command line and CADCraft lists the matching commands, as AutoCAD’s AutoComplete does. Web build of CADCraft 0.8.0.

Draw

Shortcut	Command	What it does	In CADCraft
`L`	LINE	Line segments	Same
`PL`	PLINE	Polyline with arcs and widths	Same
`C`	CIRCLE	Circle (centre, 2P, 3P, TTR)	Same
`A`	ARC	Arc	Same
`REC`	RECTANG	Rectangle, with fillet/chamfer	Same (`RECTANGLE` too)
`POL`	POLYGON	Regular polygon	Same
`EL`	ELLIPSE	Ellipse or elliptical arc	Same
`SPL`	SPLINE	Spline	Same
`XL`	XLINE	Infinite construction line	Same
`DO`	DONUT	Filled ring	Same
`PO`	POINT	Point	Same
`DT`	TEXT	Single-line text	Same
`T` / `MT`	MTEXT	Paragraph text	Same
`H`	HATCH	Hatch or solid fill	Same (`BH` too)
`GD`	GRADIENT	Gradient fill	Same
`BO`	BOUNDARY	Polyline from a closed area	Same
`REG`	REGION	Region from closed objects	Same
`DIV` / `ME`	DIVIDE / MEASURE	Points along an object	Same
`ML`	MLINE	Multiline	Same

Modify

Shortcut	Command	What it does	In CADCraft
`E`	ERASE	Delete objects	Same; the Delete key erases the selection
`M`	MOVE	Move	Same
`CO` / `CP`	COPY	Copy	Same
`RO`	ROTATE	Rotate	Same
`SC`	SCALE	Scale	Same
`MI`	MIRROR	Mirror	Same
`S`	STRETCH	Stretch with a crossing window	Same
`O`	OFFSET	Parallel copy at a distance	Same
`TR`	TRIM	Trim to cutting edges	Same
`EX`	EXTEND	Extend to boundary edges	Same
`F`	FILLET	Round a corner	Same
`CHA`	CHAMFER	Bevel a corner	Same
`X`	EXPLODE	Break a block or polyline apart	Same
`BR`	BREAK	Break an object	Same
`J`	JOIN	Join into one object	Same
`AR`	ARRAY	Rectangular, polar or path array	Same
`PE`	PEDIT	Edit a polyline	Same
`LEN`	LENGTHEN	Change a length	Same
`AL`	ALIGN	Move and rotate onto points	Same
`MA`	MATCHPROP	Copy properties to other objects	Same (`PAINTER` too)
`ED`	TEXTEDIT	Edit text	Same (`DDEDIT` too)
`DR`	DRAWORDER	Bring to front, send to back	Same
`G`	GROUP	Make a group	Same

Layers and properties

Shortcut	Command	What it does	In CADCraft
`LA`	LAYER	Layer Properties Manager	Same
`-LA`	-LAYER	Layer options at the command line	Same
`LAYISO` / `LAYUNISO`	LAYISO	Isolate / restore layers	Same
`LAYOFF`, `LAYFRZ`, `LAYLCK`, `LAYULK`, `LAYON`, `LAYTHW`	—	Layer tools by picking objects	Same
`LAYMCUR`	LAYMCUR	Make the picked object's layer current	Same
`LAYMCH`	LAYMCH	Move objects to another object's layer	Same
`LAYERP`	LAYERP	Undo the last layer change	Same
`PR` / `CH`	PROPERTIES	Properties palette	Same (`PROPS` too)
`COL`	COLOR	Current colour	Same
`LT`	LINETYPE	Linetype manager	Same
`LW`	LWEIGHT	Lineweight settings	Same
`LTS`	LTSCALE	Global linetype scale	Same

Dimensions and annotation

Shortcut	Command	What it does	In CADCraft
`DLI`	DIMLINEAR	Horizontal/vertical dimension	Same
`DAL`	DIMALIGNED	Aligned dimension	Same
`DAN`	DIMANGULAR	Angle	Same
`DRA`	DIMRADIUS	Radius	Same
`DDI`	DIMDIAMETER	Diameter	Same
`DAR`	DIMARC	Arc length	Same
`DOR`	DIMORDINATE	Ordinate	Same
`DCO`	DIMCONTINUE	Chain dimensions	Same
`DBA`	DIMBASELINE	Baseline dimensions	Same
`DJO`	DIMJOGGED	Jogged radius	Same (`JOG` too)
`D`	DIMSTYLE	Dimension Style Manager	Same
`DOV`	DIMOVERRIDE	Override a dimension variable	Same
`DED`	DIMEDIT	Edit dimension text/oblique	Same
`MLD`	MLEADER	Multileader	Same
`LE`	QLEADER	Quick leader	No. Use `LEAD` (LEADER) or `MLD`
`ST`	STYLE	Text styles	Same
`TB`	TABLE	Insert a table	Same
`TOL`	TOLERANCE	Geometric tolerance frame	Same

Blocks and references

Shortcut	Command	What it does	In CADCraft
`B`	BLOCK	Define a block	Same
`I`	INSERT	Insert a block	Same
`W`	WBLOCK	Write a block to a file	Same
`BE`	BEDIT	Block Editor	Same
`ATT`	ATTDEF	Define an attribute	Same
`ATE`	ATTEDIT	Edit attribute values	Same
`XA`	XATTACH	Attach a DWG reference	Same
`XR`	XREF	External references palette	Same
`PU`	PURGE	Remove unused definitions	Same

View and navigation

Shortcut	What it does	In CADCraft
`Z` Enter `E` Enter	Zoom to extents	Same
`Z` Enter `W`	Zoom window	Same
`Z` Enter `P`	Zoom previous	Same
`P`	Pan	Same
Mouse wheel / middle-drag	Zoom / pan	Same; pinch works on touchpads
Double-click wheel	Zoom extents	Not documented in 0.8.0; use `Z` `E`
`RE` / `REA`	Regen / regen all	Same
`V`	Named views	Same
`3DO`	Orbit	Same (`ORBIT` too)
`MS` / `PS`	Model space through a viewport / paper space	Same

Object snaps (type at a point prompt)

Type	Snaps to	In CADCraft
`END`	Endpoint	Same
`MID`	Midpoint	Same
`CEN`	Centre	Same
`GCEN`	Geometric centre	Same
`NOD`	Node (point object)	Same
`QUA`	Quadrant	Same
`INT`	Intersection	Same
`APP`	Apparent intersection	Same
`EXT`	Extension	Same
`INS`	Insertion point	Same
`PER`	Perpendicular	Same
`TAN`	Tangent	Same
`NEA`	Nearest	Same
`PAR`	Parallel	Same
`NON`	No snap for this pick	Same
`FROM`	Base point plus offset	Same
`M2P` / `MTP`	Midpoint between two points	Same
`TT` / `TK`	Temporary tracking point / tracking	Same

In CADCraft, any three-letter-or-longer start of the snap name works (END, ENDP, endpoint), and overrides nest (FROM then M2P). Point filters such as .X and .XY work too.

Ctrl and function keys

F1 to F12 compared: F1 opens the Command Reference in CADCraft instead of Help, F4 and F6 do nothing, the rest do the same job as in AutoCAD

The function-key row at a glance. Ctrl shortcuts are in the table below.

Keys	AutoCAD	In CADCraft
Ctrl+N / O / S	New / Open / Save	Same
Ctrl+Shift+S	Save As	Same
Ctrl+P	Plot	Same (Print… / Plot dialog)
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y	Undo / Redo	Same; Ctrl+Shift+Z also redoes
Ctrl+A	Select all	Same
Ctrl+C / X / V	Copy / Cut / Paste	Same
Ctrl+Shift+C	Copy with base point	Same
Ctrl+Shift+V	Paste as block	Same
Ctrl+Shift+A	Group selection on/off	Same
Ctrl+1	Properties palette	Same (Properties Inspector)
Ctrl+2	DesignCenter	No
Ctrl+3	Tool Palettes	Differs: shows CADCraft's Tool Sets
Ctrl+9	Command line on/off	Same
Ctrl+0	Clean screen	No
Ctrl+E	Next isoplane	Same
F1	Help	Differs: opens the list of commands
F2	Command history	Same
F3	Object snap on/off	Same
F4	3D object snap	No
F5	Next isoplane	Same
F6	Dynamic UCS	No
F7	Grid	Same
F8	Ortho	Same
F9	Snap	Same
F10	Polar tracking	Same
F11	Object snap tracking	Same
F12	Dynamic input	Same

Habits that carry over, and two that don't

These work the same: Enter or Space ends a command and repeats the last one. Right-click repeats too. You can type @dx,dy for relative, @d<a for polar, and #x,y for absolute coordinates, and you can type a distance while the rubber band points the way. Commands typed while another runs (transparent commands) work.

These don't:

UCS. CADCraft 0.8.0 has no UCS command, so drawings that rely on a rotated UCS can't be set up the AutoCAD way. Rotate the geometry or use polar input.
CUI customisations. Your company's .cuix ribbon and keyboard shortcuts won't load. Command aliases are different: CADCraft loads user alias files and has ALIASEDIT, so you can add the odd alias your fingers expect.

If a shortcut does something unexpected, press F1 in CADCraft. It lists every command with its aliases and keys, so you don't have to remember this page.

The CADCraft Command Reference window opened with F1, with a Filter box and rows such as NEW New Drawing QNEW, QSAVE Save SAVE and SCRIPT Run Script SCR

F1 in CADCraft: every command with its label and aliases, and a filter box at the top.

FAQ

What are the most used AutoCAD shortcuts?