How to use bindings in the AutoCAD program

Bindings in AutoCAD are one of the most important and frequently used developer features provided by this program. It can be said quite definitely that without this functionality, the development of any drawing would be more complicated by an order of magnitude. When you get used to the proposed idea of ​​work, it seems that it is impossible to do without it at all.

What is needed and how to set up bindings in AutoCAD.

Binding idea

Actually, the idea of ​​bindings lies on the surface, you just need to start drawing. For example, how to draw a line exactly to the middle of a straight line already created, how to draw a tangent to an arc, how to draw a line exactly to an imaginary intersection of the other two lines — without binding, all these tasks would have to be performed with the “left hand behind the right ear”, this would significantly complicated the process of work itself.

In general, it is impossible to do without “snaps”, therefore this mode is enabled by default in the status bar - the “OSNAP” button (Object Snap) is already pressed. But as it is necessary to be attached very often, the program has a special toolbar “Bindings”, which is not initially displayed on the screen.

The panel contains icons of all available points:

  • to the end point;
  • to the middle;
  • to the center;
  • to the node;
  • to a point on a circle located exactly at 0, 90, 180, or 270 degrees (to quadrants);
  • to the intersection of straight lines;
  • to a possible intersection point, on a possible continuation of a line;
  • to the intersection of objects;
  • to perpendicular;
  • to the tangent;
  • to the nearest point;
  • to hidden intersection;
  • to the point providing parallelism.

The panel can be displayed through the menu “View” / “Toolbars”.

All settings for serious development, one way or another, are used. Another thing is that the screen is "not rubber", and AutoCAD contains a large number of other equally useful panels. Therefore, everyone here for himself must work out the discipline of access to bindings.

It seems that the most optimal is as follows:

  • the panel itself is not displayed on the screen,
  • but all the specified bindings are assigned — this is done in the Tools / Drafting Settings menu.

Settings

Go to these settings and in the appeared window open the “Object Snap” tab. If this is your first time in this window, you will see that not all snaps are allowed yet. Each of them can be assigned separately or using the button “Select All” to enable everything, and using “Clear All” to disable everything.

Here in the window using the “Object Snap On” switch you can temporarily cancel the mode in question. But since it is always necessary to prohibit or allow the mode, this can be done in a faster way - either by clicking the button on the status bar, or simply by pressing the F3 key, which is often the case.

When working, snaps are indicated by small yellow squares, so they are perfectly visible on the black background of the drawing field in model mode (the same yellow color on a white background in the sheet mode already “does not look”). But maybe you changed the black background and the yellow color on it is no longer visible. Then you can configure all the characteristics. This is done:

  • or in the same tab "Object Snap" - in the lower left corner there is a button "Options";
  • or go to this settings window via the Tools / Options menu / Drafting tab.

Setting the characteristics of points involves:

  • the choice of their color - opens the standard color selection window;
  • the choice of their size - usually taken as the size included by default;
  • the designation of the output of the name (right under the arm) of each point ("center", "middle", "tangent", etc.) is a very useful feature, which is necessarily used;
  • the purpose of a snep aperture is perhaps not necessary, so as not to “clog” the drawing, the aperture is also not initially set by the developers;
  • the appointment of a "magnetic" capture - you do not need to become a mouse on this point, the program will automatically capture it when you are near it - a very useful opportunity;
  • be careful - here Autocad allows you to customize the appearance of the marker; Of course, it is set by default, which is very useful, but if the appearance of the marker is canceled, the mode will still work, but you will find it difficult to feel, therefore, it is better not to reset this switch.

Additional features

Some very useful features are associated with bindings in AutoCAD. First, you can bind to the drawing grid. Such a function is useful in all respects, but especially there is no price for it if you are drawing on a “one to one” scale. And it does not matter whether the grid is displayed or not. The grid output is operatively configured in the same status bar - the “GRID” button, which is not pressed by default, and the grid is not displayed.

To display the grid, you can use the hot key - F7. Sometimes binding to the grid interferes with work (usually when the grid position and position on the drawing object are located close to each other, and even the scale is small), then it can be quickly resolved or prohibited, for this there is also a hot key - F9.

Secondly, snapping to objects is often accompanied by the need for tracking - tracking characteristic objects. Here is the simple task of tracking the characteristic points of the drawing - you need to draw a line exactly to the place located on the vertical of “this” center and on the horizontal of “this” middle. Without tracking, this task would most likely have to build additional lines, then delete them — too long and inconvenient. With AutoCAD objects tracking enabled, this is very simple:

  1. First, we move the mouse to the first position to be tracked, but we do not click on the mouse, we see that the program recognized it.
  2. Then we move the mouse to the second tracked position, we also do not press - the mouse and its “enough”.
  3. Then we move the mouse approximately to the position of intersection of the necessary lines and see that the tracking is working, we get the intersection point at which we will draw the necessary, already visible, line.

Trekking is an irreplaceable thing, so for its quick assignment, the AutoCAD status bar also has a corresponding button - “OTRACK” (“Object Track”). You can enable or disable tracking with the hot key - F11.

3D binding

The constant development of AutoCAD has led to the fact that the latest versions already have a binding to the elements on three-dimensional objects. Here we note that working with such objects requires experience and good spatial perception, but if you don’t have these problems, then finally you will wake up to love bindings when working in 3D (if you didn’t have a normal plane, but this is incredible and very unusual).

Elements of 3D bindings are configured in the same place where the bindings on the plane are configured - “Tools” / “Drafting Settings” / “3D Object Snap” tab. Here all the same characteristic points, taking into account the peculiarities of working with three-dimensional planes. In addition, there are additionally bindings to:

  • the center of the face;
  • edge edge;
  • the corner between the edges;
  • perpendicular to the face and its edges;

Here you can also assign a binding to all possible objects, clear all the bindings, adjust the appearance of the markers (the keys “Select All”, “Clear All” and “Options”).

AutoCAD is a huge application with lots of features. All these functions are different in their significance for the development process - some are used constantly, some are needed only from time to time, some, frankly, “not needed at all”, they are from the “imagination” of application developers. But snapping refers to the functionality, without which no AutoCAD user can do, whether he is a newbie or an already experienced professional.