In AutoCAD, orthographic mode is a drawing aid feature that restricts cursor movement to only in a horizontal or vertical direction. This is very helpful for drawing orthogonal lines (i.e., lines that are parallel to the x-axis or y-axis). There are a few ways you can turn orthographic mode on or off:
In AutoCAD's status bar (at the bottom of the screen), find the "Orthographic Mode" icon (an icon that represents an angle, or simply the "Orth" text) and click on it to toggle Orthographic mode on and off. When Orthographic mode is activated, the icon is displayed as illuminated.
Pressf8keys can also be used to quickly turn orthogonal mode on or off. This is a toggle switch that changes the state of the quadrature mode with each press.
Enter on the command lineorthomode, and then pressenterKey. Inputto turn on orthogonal mode, inputto turn off orthographic mode.
In some versions of AutoCAD, you can also turn orthographic mode on or off by accessing the settings in the Sketches & Annotations workspace. Go to the "Tools" menu, select "Sketch Settings", and then find and check or uncheck "Orthographic Mode" in the pop-up dialog box.
Orthogonal mode is useful for creating precise vertical and horizontal lines, especially when making mechanical designs or architectural drawings.
When orthographic mode is on, your cursor movement will be limited to 90-degree increments. This means that you can only draw lines in the vertical or horizontal direction.
In some AutoCAD versions or configurations, the status bar, shortcuts, and command line may behave slightly differently, so please adjust them appropriately depending on the version you are using.
With these methods, you can easily turn orthographic mode on or off in AutoCAD as needed to help you draw more efficiently.