Getting Help

Getting Help
Eventually, you’ll find yourself somewhere without documentation, and you’ll have a question
about an AutoCAD feature. AutoCAD provides an online help facility that gives you information
on nearly any topic related to AutoCAD. Here’s how to find help:
1. Choose Help  Help from the menu bar to open the AutoCAD 2008 Help window.
2. If it isn’t already selected, click the Contents tab. This tab contains a table of contents. The
other two tabs—Index and Search—provide assistance in finding specific topics.


3. Scan down the screen until you see the topic Command Reference, and double-click it. Both
panels of the Help window change to show more topics.
4. In the panel on the right, click the item labeled C just to the right of the Commands listing.
The panel expands to display a list of command names that start with the letter C.
5. Look down the list, and click the word Copy. A description of the Copy command appears
in the panel to the right.
TIP You can also press F1 to open the AutoCAD Help window.
You also have the Concepts and Procedures tabs along the top of the panel on the right. These
options provide more detailed information about the use of the selected item. If you want to back
up through the steps you’ve just taken, click the Back button on the toolbar.
Using the InfoCenter
If you want to find information about a topic based on a keyword, you can use the Info Center in
the upper-right corner of the AutoCAD window. Follow these steps:
1. Type change in the InfoCenter text box at the top right of the AutoCAD window, and then
click the InfoCenter tool to the right of the input box.


2. The InfoCenter expands to display a list of resources for the word change.



This list is a bit overwhelming. You can use Boolean AND, OR, NEAR, and NOT in conjunction
with other keywords to help filter your searches, just as in a typical search engine that you might use
in your web browser. After you’ve found a topic you want, select it from the Select Topic list, and then
click the Display button to display information related to the topic in the panel on the right.
Besides using a keyword for searches, you can also use phrases or questions. Try the following
steps to see how you can use a question:
1. In the InfoCenter text box, type How do I zoom into my view↵. The list below the text box
changes to show several items that relate to adjusting views in AutoCAD.
2. Click Pan or Zoom a View - Concept from the list. The Help window opens to display a
description of how the Zoom command works.


You’ll notice three tabs in the right panel: Concepts, Procedures, and Commands. Concepts covers
the general description of the topic. Procedures shows you methods for using the command, and
Commands provides more detailed information about the command and its options.