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CADTutor provides the best free tutorials and articles for AutoCAD, 3ds Max and associated applications along with a friendly community forum. If you need to learn AutoCAD, or you want to be more productive, you're in the right place. See our tip of the day to start learning right now!
Free Tutorials and More…
The Tutorials section provides over 100 original tutorials for AutoCAD, 3ds Max and other design applications. Michael’s Corner is an archive of productivity articles that brings you the best AutoCAD tips and tricks. Our Forum is a lively community where AutoCAD users can ask questions and get answers. The Downloads area provides free AutoCAD blocks, free AutoLISP routines and free images.
Tutorials of the Moment
Recently viewed tutorials
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Surfaces
The first and perhaps most crucial stage in creating a 3D landscape scene is the creation of accurate and seamless surfaces. This tutorial explores a number (not all) of techniques for creating quick and accurate surfaces from 2D lines and should give the user a feel for the range of tools available. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 3 minutes ago
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Sky Backgrounds
Putting a scene into an "environment" is important, not least to generate a feeling of "outdoors", a "sense of place" or mood. This tutorial takes you through the process of applying a sky background. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 4 minutes ago
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Basic 3D and Surface Modelling
Although AutoCAD has a number of commands for creating special 3D objects, a lot can be achieved by changing the properties of basic 2D objects like polylines. This tutorial provides a basic introduction to creating and viewing 3D objects. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 10 minutes ago
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Creating a Walkthrough
This tutorial shows how to create an animated walkthrough of your AutoCAD 3D model using 3DS MAX 5. All you need to start is an AutoCAD drawing with some 3D content. The end result will be a .AVI file which can be viewed on any Windows PC. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 12 minutes ago
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Setting up a PostScript Plotter
How to set up a PostScript Plotter. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 12 minutes ago
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AutoLISP Quick Start
This tutorial is designed to help AutoCAD users get to grips with AutoLISP quickly. It demonstartes how to create AutoLISP routines from a standing start. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 12 minutes ago
CADTutor Tutorials
Our tutorials are comprehensive but straightforward introductions to AutoCAD and related software. They are designed to help beginners get to grips with design workflows as quickly as possible. There are over 100 to choose from, some text/image based and others in video format. Whatever stage you are at in your learning, you should find a tutorial to help.
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CADTutor Forums
Our forum is a vibrant community of experts and beginners. The main focus is helping beginners get to grips with AutoCAD and to help more advanced users become more productive. The AutoLISP forum is one of the busiest out there, providing expert advice for busy professionals.
AutoCAD Productivity
Text Frame on Mtext
From: AutoCAD Productivity Articles #148
Originally published: October 2016
Yes, you can Enclose Text in Objects from Express Tools — See Michael's Corner, June 2004 — but when using the Text Frame property on Mtext, the frame adjusts when you size the Mtext or change the text content!

Just select your Mtext, open Properties [Ctrl 1], then set Text Frame to <Yes>.
To test it, change the size of your Mtext or edit the content and the frame automatically adjusts!
See all the articles published in October 2016
Michael's Corner
Between 2003 and 2016, Michael Beall (and one or two guests) wrote almost 600 articles for CADTutor. The focus of these articles is AutoCAD productivity, and although some of them are now more than a few years old, most remain relevant to current versions of AutoCAD. The article above is just one example. Check out Michael's Corner for a full listing.
Image of the Week
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10th – 16th August 2026
This week's image is by papagyi
Software used: 3ds Max 9 and V-Ray
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Last Week's Image
Last week's image is by boofredlay
Software used: SketchUp and V-Ray
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Two Weeks Ago
This image is by Lazarus
Software used: AutoCAD 2009
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Three Weeks Ago
This image is by BenGoble
Software used: 3ds Max
Gallery of Work
Over the years, our forum members have contributed hundreds of images, showcasing their amazing work. The images above are just a small selection that demonstrate the wide range of project types our community is involved with. Take a look at our gallery to see all the images published in the last 12 months.
Tip of the Day
Keeping the UCS icon in its place
By default, AutoCAD always displays the UCS icon at the drawing origin (0,0) unless the origin is off screen, in which case, the UCS icon sits quietly in the bottom left-hand corner of the drawing area.
If you find the UCS icon distracting when it's floating in the middle of the screen, you can force it to be displayed in the bottom left-hand corner using the ucsicon command.
Enter an option [ON/OFF/All/Noorigin/ORigin/Properties] <ON>:
Use the "Noorigin" option to force the icon into the bottom left corner and the "ORigin" option to set it back to the default.
See the UCS Icon tutorial for more details.
Missed a Tip?
Did you miss yesterday's tip? Maybe you forgot to drop by or maybe you don't visit over the weekend. If so, you can now see all the tips published during the past week. Also, if you have a tip you'd like to share with us, you can post it on our forum and if we like it, we'll publish it here.