A block in AutoCAD is any shape that is repeated in one or more drawings more than once.

So, instead of drawing it each and every time you need it, follow the following steps:

• Draw it once.

• Store it as a block.

• Insert it as many times as you wish.

Blocks in AutoCAD changed a lot in the past five years, which made some old procedures obsolete.

In our discussion we will mention the old methods, but we will concentrate more on the new methods of using blocks.

The first step in creating blocks in AutoCAD is to draw the desired shape.

While drawing the shape, consider the following three guidelines:

• Draw the shape in Layer 0 (zero).

• Draw the shape in certain units (to be usable in Design Center).

• Draw the shape in the right dimensions.

Layer 0 is different from any other layer in AutoCAD. It will allow the block to be transparent both in color and in linetype.

If you draw the shape while layer 0 is current, then insert it in another layer with red color and dash-dot linetype, the block will be red and dash-dot.

If you want to use your block with Design Center you need to specify the units you used to create it.

That will affect the Automatic scaling feature of Design Center.

Right dimensions are either:

• The real dimension of the shape.

• Or, values, like 1, 10, 100, or 1000 for the distances, so it will...