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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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Animation
Design visualisation animation generally involves animation of cameras in walkthrough, panaround or flyover movies to give the client a much richer and more informative view of the design. This tutorial covers the basics. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 1 minute ago
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Keyframe Animation
This tutorial gives a basic but comprehensive introduction to keyframe animation in Bryce and introduces some key concepts in animation generally. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 2 minutes ago
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AutoCAD 2010: Extrude & Press/Pull
This tutorial introduces the AutoCAD extrusion tools, Extrude and Press/Pull. A good understanding of both tools is important for developing 3D modeling skills. Running time: 9min 53sec Format: Video
Last visited: 3 minutes ago
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Creating Terrain Objects
This tutorial describes a method for creating terrain objects in 3DS using contours from AutoCAD. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 3 minutes ago
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Perspectives, Slides and Scripts
AutoCAD can be used to create a simple "walk through" of any 3D model. This tutorial shows you how. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 3 minutes ago
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Site Layout Exercise 2
This exercise is designed to progress your skills in 2D drafting and to test your understanding of layouts and printing to scale from paper space. Format: Text/Image
Last visited: 7 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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2nd – 8th March 2026
This week's image is by Lazer
Software used: Inventor and Solid Edge
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Last Week's Image
Last week's image is by Miklos Fuccaro
Software used: AutoCAD 2006
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Two Weeks Ago
This image is by craigp
Software used: AutoCAD 2007 and V-Ray
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Three Weeks Ago
This image is by StykFacE
Software used: AutoCAD 2008
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
Selecting multiple grips
Did you know that you can move more than one grip at a time? Select an object to display the grips. Hold down the Shift key and select as many grips as you wish. Release the Shift key, click again on any one of the highlighted grips and then click it's new position. All the selected grips will follow.
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.