NEW Command

Creates a new drawing file

	Standard toolbar:
	File menu: New
	Command line: new

AutoCAD LT displays the Create New Drawing dialog box.

Use a Wizard

If you want to set up a drawing using a dialog box, choose Use a Wizard. You can choose from two wizards: Quick Setup and Advanced Setup.

• Quick Setup. Choose the Quick Setup wizard to set up the drawing area and change settings, such as text height and snap spacing, to an appropriate scale.
• Advanced Setup. Choose the Advanced Setup wizard to set up the drawing area and change settings, such as text height and snap spacing, to an appropriate scale. You can also establish basic layout features.

Use a Template

If you want to start a drawing based on a template drawing, choose Use a Template.

• Select a Template. Choose a template drawing as a starting point for new drawings. It stores all the settings for a drawing and may also include predefined layers, dimension styles, and views. Template drawings are distinguished from other drawing files by a different file extension, .dwt. They are normally kept in the template directory. Several template drawings are included with AutoCAD LT. You can make additional template drawings by changing the extensions of drawing file names to .dwt.

Start from Scratch

If you want to begin drawing quickly using default English or metric settings, choose Start From Scratch.

Instructions

If you want a brief description of each of the methods for starting a new drawing, choose Instructions.

Quick Setup

Step 1: Units

Select the format in which you want to display units of measure, including coordinates and measurements. Several measurement styles are available in AutoCAD LT. Two of them, "Engineering" and "Architectural," have a specific base unit (inches) assigned to them. You can choose from other measurement styles that can represent any convenient unit of measurement:

• Decimal. Select to display measurements in decimal notation.
• Engineering. Select to display measurements in feet and decimal inches.
• Architectural. Select to display measurements in feet, inches, and fractional inches.
• Fractional. Select to display measurements in mixed number (integer and fractional) notation.
• Scientific. Select to display measurements in scientific notation (numbers expressed in the form of the product of a decimal number between 0 and 10 and a power of 10).

You control the precision displayed in all measurements from the Advanced Setup wizard or with the DDUNITS command.

Step 2: Area

Enter the approximate width and length in full-scale units of what you plan to draw. This limits the area of the drawing covered by grid dots when the grid is turned on. It also adjusts several default settings, such as text height, linetype scaling, and snap distance, to convenient values. You can also adjust these settings individually from the Format menu later in the drawing session.

Advanced Setup

Step 1: Units

Select the format in which you want to enter and display coordinates and measurements. Several measurement styles are available in AutoCAD LT. Two of them, "Engineering" and "Architectural," have a specific base unit assigned to them (inches). You can choose from other measurement styles that can represent any convenient unit of measurement:

• Decimal. Select to display measurements in decimal notation.
• Engineering. Select to display measurements in feet and decimal inches.
• Architectural. Select to display measurements in feet, inches, and fractional inches.
• Fractional. Select to display measurements in mixed number (integer and fractional) notation.
• Scientific. Select to display measurements in scientific notation (numbers expressed in the form of the product of a decimal number between 0 and 10 and a power of 10).

Precision controls the number of decimal places or fractional size to which you want linear measurements displayed.

Step 2: Angles

Select the format in which you want to enter and display angles:

• Decimal Degrees. Select to enter and display partial degrees as decimals.
• Deg/Min/Sec. Select to enter and display partial degrees as minutes and seconds.
• Grads. Select to enter and display angles as grads.
• Radians. Select to enter and display angles as radians.
• Surveyor. Select to enter and display angles in surveyor units.

Step 3: Angle Measure

Select the direction of the zero angle for the entry of angles:

• East. Select to specify the compass direction east as the zero angle.
• North. Select to specify the compass direction north as the zero angle.
• West. Select to specify the compass direction west as the zero angle.
• South. Select to specify the compass direction south as the zero angle.
• Other. Enter an angle to specify a direction different from the points of the compass as the zero angle.

Step 4: Angle Direction

Select the direction to enter and display positive angle values.

• Counter Clockwise
• Clockwise

Step 5: Area

Enter the approximate width and length of what you plan to draw in full-scale units. This limits the area of the drawing covered by grid dots when the grid is turned on. It also adjusts several default settings, such as text height, linetype scaling, and snap distance, to convenient values. You can also adjust these settings, individually, from the Format menu later in the drawing session.

Step 6: Title Block

Select the description of the title block you want to insert in your new drawing. You can add or remove drawing files of title blocks from the list with the Add and Remove buttons. You can also include text at the outside edge of your title block to record the license name, date, time, and drawing file name by checking the Date Stamp box.

• Title Block Description. Select the description of the title block you want to insert in your new drawing.
• Title Block File Name. Select the name of the drawing file that contains the title block you want to use.
• Add. Select to display the Select Title Block File dialog box, where you can select a file to add to the list.
• Remove. Select to remove the displayed file name from the list.
• Date Stamp. Select to include text at the outside edge of your title block to record the date and time.

Step 7: Layout

• Yes. Select to use advanced paper space layout capabilities in AutoCAD LT. Paper space is often used to create complex multiple-view drawings.
• No. Select to use model space only.

For additional information on paper space, select the What Is Paper Space? button on the wizard or see Overview: Laying out a drawing with multiple views.

If you selected Yes to use paper space, you have three choices of where to begin working:

• Work on my drawing while viewing the layout. You can see paper space but all commands apply to model space only.
• Work on my drawing without the layout visible. All commands apply to model space only; paper space is not displayed.
• Work on the layout of my drawing. All commands apply to paper space only; you can see objects in model space.

After completing the wizard, you can change these settings by double-clicking the Tile and Model/Paper buttons on the status bar.

System Variables: The FILEDIA system variable controls whether the Create New Drawing dialog box appears when you enter the New command.
Environment Variables: The NoStartUpDialog environment variable in the aclt.ini file controls whether the Start Up dialog box appears when you first start AutoCAD LT. The Measure environment variable in aclt.ini controls the default drawing settings, English or metric, and can also be set from the Preferences dialog box.