In this lesson, we’ll focus on the Grid and Snap helper functions. By using them, you can position new objects much more easily, and on this example I will show you how to do it.

To begin with, it is necessary to activate these two functions. This can be achieved most easily through the icons located in this zone, so I will move the cursor to the bottom edge and use the left mouse button to first activate the Grid function and then the Snap function. To adjust their parameters, you can click on this arrow and select the Snap Settings item from the auxiliary menu. After that, a box with many new functions will appear on the screen, and for now I will limit myself to those found in the first section.

As you can see, both functions can be turned on or off by pressing the appropriate function key – F9 for Snap and F7 for Grid. In my case, both parameters are set to the same value (0.5 units), and it would not be bad if a double distance was chosen for the Grid. To that end, it is enough to enter the desired value in the field called Grid X spacing and press the Tab key, and AutoCAD will apply the same parameter to the Y axis. If you want a slightly thicker line to appear at a certain distance, you can change the parameter named Major line every. It suits me that it should be every 10th line, so I will enter this information and immediately check what I have achieved. As you can see, in the background the auxiliary grid is shown and every 10th line is slightly different from the others. In order for its display to automatically adjust to the current zoom factor, it is necessary to keep the Adaptive grid option turned on. The same goes for the Grid snap option, and since I have everything in place, I can click the OK button and complete this operation.

Now a series of help lines can be seen on my screen, with every 10th showing something different. If I turn the wheel towards me and thereby enlarge the entire drawing, the distance between the lines will increase, and if I go in the other direction and reduce the scale, only those emphasized lines will remain on the screen. This allows me to estimate the relative distance at any time regardless of the currently selected magnification.

To show you how useful these features are, I’ll draw one element. I’ll start by running the Line command and as soon as I put the cursor back on the drawing, you’ll notice that it now moves in regular jumps. They are now exactly half an AutoCAD unit which corresponds to the size I set the Snap parameter to. In order to prove it to you, I will move the cursor very slightly and you pay attention to the coordinates that describe its current position.

I can use all this to draw a new line, because it won’t be difficult for me to accurately determine its length. It is enough to move the cursor in the desired direction and follow the distance that is read on the screen. In this way I will draw a perfectly regular rectangle and press Enter to terminate the Line command.

If for any reason it turns out that you need a line that does not fit into this grid, you can turn off the Snap function at any time by simply clicking on this icon. After that you will be able to select any point and finish drawing the new element.

In practice, only one of these two functions is often used. I will therefore turn off the grid assist and keep only the Snap function to still be able to hit points that are at a suitable distance.