The status bar modes

The status bar modes help you make precise drawings in AutoCAD. The tools in the status bar can be toggled on and off by clicking on their icons or by using their function keys. Not all status bar icons are visible by default and you can toggle the visibility of the icons as per your requirements:

Figure 2.12: The status bar toggles

To change the visibility of icons in the status bar, click on the customization icon, shown as three dashes on the far-right side of the status bar, and click on the name of the icon that you want to show on the status bar. When visible, a checkmark will show next to the icon's name. In the following screenshot, you can see Dynamic Input and other status bar toggles checked in the customization menu:

Figure 2.13: The customization menu and checked toggles

In this section, we will discuss some of the most basic status bar toggles that we need in order to render drawings precisely.

Using Dynamic Input

Dynamic Input allows you to enter the distances, angles, and other values right inside a drawing with a visual reference. Using the Dynamic Input tool, you can bypass the command line and enter the details directly in the drawing.

To explain the Dynamic Input tool, I will again use the drawing of an inclined line shown in the following diagram:

Figure 2.14: A line inclined at an angle

Here, we will make our inclined line with a length of 6 units and an angle of 36 degrees, with respect to the positive side of the X axis, performing the following steps:

1. Click on the Dynamic Input icon in the status bar and it will turn blue when active. You can also type DYNMODE, then press Enter, and then type 3 and press Enter again to activate the Dynamic Input mode. The default value of the DYNMODE system variable is -3. You can also activate or deactivate the Dynamic Input mode using the F12 function key:

Figure 2.15: The Dynamic Input icon

2. When the Dynamic Input mode is active, select the Line command and you will now notice a tooltip on the cursor with the value of the X and Y coordinates of the point, as in the following screenshot:

Figure 2.16: The X and Y coordinate values on the tooltip cursor

3. Now, click at a point in the drawing area and your tooltip on the cursor will change to represent a length and an angle field, as in the following screenshot:

Figure 2.17: The length and angle fields in the Dynamic Input mode

4. Here, the length field is active and ready for your input. Type the length of the line in this field and press the Tab key on your keyboard.
5. The line will be locked at a length of 6 units and a lock sign will also appear next to the length field of the tooltip. Also, the angle field will be highlighted. Now, enter the angle value without any angle sign, which in this case will be 36, and press Enter.

We now have our required line with a length of 6 inclined to an angle of 36 degrees, with respect to the X axis.

So, as you have noticed, this is a quick and effective way of making geometries in a drawing, which you can use to bypass the coordinate or direct distance entry methods. If, for any reason, you don't want to use this Dynamic Input tool, then click on the Dynamic Input icon again on the status bar to deactivate it.

So, now you know that Dynamic Input makes it easy to add distances and angles, let's move on to learning about another status bar mode called ortho mode, which makes rendering horizontal and vertical lines a breeze. We will discuss this status bar mode in the next section.

Using ortho mode

So far, we have used the line command to make geometries in arbitrary directions. But if you want to restrict the direction of your lines to horizontal and vertical directions, then you can use ortho mode. Ortho mode restricts the movement of the cursor to a horizontal or vertical direction only, so with ortho mode active, you will be able to make lines only in a horizontal or vertical direction. To activate ortho mode, you can use the following workflow:

1. Click on the ortho mode icon in the status bar, as in the following screenshot, or press the F8 function key on your keyboard:

Figure 2.18: The ortho mode icon in the status bar

2. Select the Line tool from the Draw panel or use its command, L, and click on a point in the drawing area.
3. Now, move your cursor around and you will see that the line will remain restricted to a horizontal or vertical direction, depending on the movement of your cursor.

You can click on different points to make the geometry but the lines will always remain horizontal or vertical. To deactivate ortho mode, simply click on its icon in the status bar again or press the F8 function key on your keyboard. Just like ortho mode, there is another mode in the status bar that lets you make lines on any angle you specify. This mode is called polar tracking and we will discuss it in the next section.

Using polar tracking

Polar tracking allows you to make geometries at any angle you want. To activate polar tracking, click on its icon in the status bar, as in the following screenshot. You can also activate polar tracking by pressing the F10 function key on your keyboard:

Figure 2.19: Polar tracking mode in the status bar

When polar tracking is active, it will automatically deactivate ortho mode.

1. Start the Line command again by selecting its command, L
2. Click at a point in the drawing area and move your cursor in the horizontal or vertical direction.
3. You will notice a green tracking vector when the cursor is horizontal or vertical and this will help you to restrict the line to a horizontal and vertical direction:

Figure 2.20: The green tracking vector when the line is horizontal

But this is not all. In this case, you can assign a different angle to polar tracking mode and it will start restricting your lines to those angles.

1. To change the angle of polar tracking, click on the small arrow right beside the polar tracking icon.
2. When the angle menu shows up select the angle that you want to choose.
3. By default, 90 and its multiples will be selected, but we will change this to 30 and its multiples, as shown in the following screenshot:

Figure 2.21: The different angle options in polar tracking

4. You can select any other angle value as well, if you want to, from the list.

After making your selection, move your cursor again to the drawing area and now you will find a green tracking vector after an interval of every 30 degrees or at every angle that is a multiple of 30 degrees as shown in the following figure:

Figure 2.22: The green tracking vector along a 60-degree angle

These status bar options allow you to make geometries. To make drawings, we will use a combination of these status bar tools as and when needed.

So, now that we know the methods for making simple line drawings with precision in AutoCAD, we will move on to learning about other geometries, such as circles, arcs, and polygons.