AutoCAD® 2012 FOR DUMMIES®

Scoring Points

I thought about not covering points in this book, but I didn't want you complaining that AutoCAD 2012 For Dummies is pointless.

The word point describes two different things in AutoCAD:

• A location in the drawing that you specify (by typing coordinates or clicking with the mouse)
• An object that you draw with the POINT command

Throughout this chapter and most of the book, I tell you to specify points — that's the location meaning. This section tells you how to draw point objects.

A point object in AutoCAD can serve two purposes:

• Points often identify specific locations in your drawing to other people who look at the drawing. A point can be something that displays on the screen, either as a tiny dot or as another symbol, such as a cross with a circle around it.
• You can use points as precise object snap locations. Think of them as construction points. For example, when you're laying out a new building, you might draw point objects at some of the engineering survey points and then snap to those points as you sketch the building's shape with the PLINE command. You use the Node Object Snap mode to snap to AutoCAD point objects.

What makes AutoCAD point objects complicated is their almost limitless range of display options, provided to accommodate the two different kinds of purposes just described (and possibly some others that I haven't figured out yet). You use the ...