Zoom Commands
Here we'll take a quick look at the various zoom commands available, and their uses. This tutorial requires you to download the AutoCAD drawing file Lesson3.dwg

Lesson3.dwg (AutoCAD 2000 File Version)
lesson3r14.dwg (AutoCAD R14 File Version)

1) Load up the file, the drawing is of a steel plate with 6 mounting screws.

To see all of the available zoom commands, the zoom toolbar needs to be visible. Load in the zoom toolbar (For those who can't remember: Go to the 'view' drop down menu, then select toolbars. Check the 'zoom' box then choose close. Move the toolbar to a convenient location)

AutoCAD's zoom command toolbar:



Commands (From Left to Right):

Zoom Window : Select a window over the location to zoom into. AutoCAD will zoom in close to the object including everything within the selection box.

Zoom Dynamic : Enables the user to set the size of a standard zoom window type box, then use this box to select zoom in views of the drawing with this box with clicks of the mouse button. (Not as powerful as zoom window in my opinion)

Zoom Scale : Enables the user to zoom into the drawing to a known scale (referred to as an 'XP value'). This type of zoom is not required until you are ready to plot the drawing. Don't worry, you're not expected to understand the use of this command yet! It will be covered in the paperspace/layout view tutorial.

Zoom Centre : Specify a centre point, then a radius and AutoCAD will centre this view to fit your screen.

Zoom In : Pretty simple, zooms into the drawing slightly by each click! Quick 'n' simple!

Zoom Out : Same as above, but zoom out by each click.

Zoom All : Zooms to the extents of the drawing limits. Don't worry about this just yet.

Zoom Extent : This is a very useful command. One press will zoom to the extent of the entire drawing enabling a very quick overview of the project and an easy starting point to zoom into a more precise area of the drawing with one of the above tools.

2) You should have the lesson3.dwg file open in AutoCAD. If not then open it up now. Time to try some zoom commands out.

3) Press the zoom window button. AutoCAD asks for the first corner of the box you are about to draw. This corner can be any corner of the zoom box we will specify. Choose an area just to the top left of the left side middle screw (see below). AutoCAD now asks for the opposite corner, select to the bottom right of the screw ensuring the screw is clearly inside the zoom box.
You should now have a clear view of the screw.



4) Now try the zoom in and zoom out buttons. Notice how they knock the zoom in and out by a set amount each time, just comfortable enough to get a wider/closer view where required.

5) Now press the zoom extents button. This zooms back to see the entire drawing centred in the screen.

Have a play with the commands , viewing different areas of the drawing until you feel comfortable manipulating the zoom to suit the view you require.

Zoom Realtime / Pan Command
By now you should be comfortable with operating the zoom commands. Now we'll try the easiest and perhaps most used zoom command available, zoom realtime. This command is located on the toolbar named 'standard toolbar'.

1) Select the zoom realtime button .

2) This command will zoom in and out of the drawing dependant on how far you move your mouse. Left click and hold the left mouse button down. AutoCAD will zoom in further into the drawing the further you move you mouse up (away from you). Try pulling the mouse down with the left button still held down, AutoCAD will zoom out. Once mastered, zoom realtime will become your preferred method of quickly zooming into a drawing.

3) Now we'll introduce a command which quickly enables you to change the view of the screen without altering the zoom. You probably noticed that while zooming with any of the above commands, you sometimes wanted to view either further left, right, up or down on the drawing. This wasn't possible with the zoom commands without zooming out and then zooming in again showing the area you require. The pan tool enables us to control exactly which area we are viewing.

4) Select the pan button

5) While holding the left mouse button, pull the mouse to the left, right, up or down. Notice how the pan tool reflects these mouse movements on screen so we can move around the screen effortlessly.

Top Tip! - Combining the zoom real time and pan commands is by far the quickest way to navigate a drawing. While either command is open, try right clicking the mouse in the drawing area to bring up a small menu where the most common and useful zoom commands can be quickly selected : pan, zoom (realtime), zoom window and zoom extents. Get used to right clicking to change zoom commands to easily navigate any AutoCAD drawing.

Just one last note, but an often misunderstood concept for new AutoCAD users. Zooming DOES NOT affect the drawing scale in any way. The dimensions of the drawing remain the same! We are simply manipulating the view.
For example; A car viewed from a Plane traveling at 10,000ft appears quite small, when viewed from 25,000ft it appears tiny! The size of the car however has not altered, we are simply viewing it from further away!

That concludes our zoom and pan tutorial!

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