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Free course · Architecture & Engineering

Free AutoCAD Course

Learn 2D drafting in AutoCAD from your first line to a complete, plotted set of drawings — step by step, with exercises and real projects.

32 lessons · 5 practical projects · about 22 hours · free, no sign-up

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0 of 37 lessons and projects complete · saved on this device

Start: What is AutoCAD?

About this course

AutoCAD is one of the most widely used drafting programs in architecture, engineering and construction. This free course teaches the skills employers expect of a drafter, in the order you need them: first drawing accurately, then organising and annotating a drawing, then producing sheets that can be printed, shared and built from.

Every lesson explains why as well as how, walks through the commands step by step, and ends with an exercise, a checklist and a short quiz. The practical projects then combine those skills into real drawings — a floor plan, an office layout, a site plan and a detailed architectural drawing.

The course is written for current versions of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT on Windows and Mac. Menus move a little between versions, so the lessons teach the command names: type them at the command line and they work in any recent version.

By the end you will be able to

  • Draw precisely with coordinates, object snaps and tracking
  • Edit geometry quickly with trim, offset, copy, rotate and mirror
  • Organise drawings with layers, properties and templates
  • Add dimensions, text, hatching and blocks to professional standards
  • Set up layouts, viewports and scales, and plot to PDF
  • Produce complete floor, site and detail drawings

Who it’s for

  • • Complete beginners who have never used CAD
  • • Architecture, engineering and construction students
  • • Tradespeople and builders who need to read or edit drawings
  • • Drafters moving from hand drawing or another CAD program

Getting AutoCAD legitimately

  • • Autodesk offers a free trial of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT on its website.
  • • Eligible students and educators can get free educational access through the Autodesk Education Community.
  • • For paid work, subscribe through Autodesk or an authorised reseller.
  • • Free DWG viewers from Autodesk let you open and measure drawings without a licence.
Official AutoCAD website

Course outline

Follow the order, or jump to what you need — nothing is locked. Each lesson has steps, an exercise, a checklist and a quiz.

Beginner Drawing and editing basics

Beginner overview

Start here if you are new to AutoCAD. You will learn the interface, how to move around a drawing, units and coordinates, and the core drawing and editing commands used every day.

  1. 1. What is AutoCAD?AutoCAD is a computer-aided design (CAD) program for precise 2D drawings and 3D models. Learn what it does, who uses it and how drawings are stored before you draw your first line.12 min
  2. 2. The AutoCAD interface and workspaceFind your way around AutoCAD: where the tools are, how the command line talks to you, and how to set up a clean workspace for 2D drafting.15 min
  3. 3. Navigating drawings: zoom, pan and viewsMost of your time in AutoCAD is spent moving around the drawing. Learn the mouse moves and zoom commands that make navigation effortless.10 min
  4. 4. Drawing units and working full sizeAutoCAD doesn’t know what “1” means until you decide. Choose your units once, draw everything full size, and scale problems never happen.12 min
  5. 5. Coordinates: absolute, relative and polarCoordinates are how you tell AutoCAD exactly where points go. Master the three ways to type a point and you can draw anything precisely without a single guess.18 min
  6. 6. Basic drawing: aids, selection and undoBefore learning individual shapes, learn the drawing aids that keep lines straight and exact, and the few commands you will use hundreds of times a day.14 min
  7. 7. Drawing lines accuratelyLINE is the command you will use more than any other. Learn its options and a reliable routine for drawing lines that are exactly the right length and angle.12 min
  8. 8. Polylines: one object, many segmentsA polyline is a chain of line and arc segments stored as one object. It is the right tool for outlines, walls, boundaries and anything you will offset or measure.14 min
  9. 9. Circles and arcsCircles and arcs appear everywhere — columns, pipes, door swings, curved walls. Learn the drawing methods and when each one is the right choice.14 min
  10. 10. Trim and extendDrafting is often “draw long, then trim back”. TRIM and EXTEND tidy intersections in seconds and are among the most used editing commands.12 min
  11. 11. Offset: parallel copies at a distanceOFFSET creates a parallel copy of a line, arc, circle or polyline at a set distance. It’s how drafters turn a single line into a wall, a kerb or a boundary setback.12 min
  12. 12. Move, copy and rotateMoving, copying and rotating are how you reuse work. The key is the base point: pick it on something meaningful and every placement is exact.15 min
  13. 13. Scale and mirrorSCALE resizes objects about a base point; MIRROR flips them across a line. Together they save hours on symmetrical buildings and on drawings that arrive at the wrong size.12 min

Intermediate Organising and annotating drawings

Intermediate overview

Turn geometry into a professional drawing: layers and properties, object snaps, dimensions, text, blocks, hatching, external references, templates, layouts and plotting.

  1. 1. Layers: organising a drawingLayers are how a CAD drawing stays organised: every wall, door, dimension and piece of furniture belongs to a layer that controls how it looks, whether it shows, and whether it prints.20 min
  2. 2. Object properties and Match PropertiesEvery object has properties — layer, colour, linetype, lineweight, size. Learn to read and change them, copy them between objects, and select objects by property.15 min
  3. 3. Object snaps and trackingObject snaps lock the cursor onto exact points of existing objects — ends, middles, centres, intersections. They are the single most important habit for accurate drafting.18 min
  4. 4. Dimensions and dimension stylesDimensions tell the builder exactly how big things are. Learn how dimensions are built, how to place them quickly, and how to set up a dimension style that prints correctly at any scale.22 min
  5. 5. Text and text stylesDrawings carry a lot of words — room names, notes, specifications. Learn the two text commands, how text styles keep everything consistent, and what height text should be.15 min
  6. 6. Annotation scale and leadersAnnotation is everything that explains the geometry. Annotative scaling makes text, dimensions and symbols print at the right size at any scale, and multileaders point notes at what they describe.18 min
  7. 7. Blocks: reusable symbolsA block is a named group of objects you draw once and place many times — doors, windows, furniture, symbols, title blocks. Edit the definition and every copy updates.22 min
  8. 8. Hatching and fillsHatches fill areas with patterns to show materials — concrete, insulation, brick — or to highlight zones. Learn to create clean, associative hatches at the right scale.15 min
  9. 9. External references (xrefs)External references link other drawings into yours without copying them. Teams use them so everyone works from the same up-to-date base plans, survey and grids.18 min
  10. 10. Drawing templatesA template is a blank drawing with all your settings ready — units, layers, styles and sheets. Build one once and every new drawing starts consistent.15 min
  11. 11. Layouts and viewportsLayouts are the sheets you print. You arrange scaled windows — viewports — onto a sheet with a title block. This is where a full-size drawing becomes a 1:100 plan.20 min
  12. 12. Plotting and printing to PDFPlotting turns layouts into paper or PDF. With a good page setup and plot style, every sheet comes out at the right scale with crisp, correctly weighted lines.18 min

Advanced Professional workflows

Advanced overview

Work like an experienced drafter: dynamic blocks, advanced annotation, sheet organisation, reference management, CAD standards and the habits that make drafting fast and reliable.

  1. 1. Dynamic blocksA dynamic block changes shape or appearance through grips and lists: one door block that stretches from 720 to 920, flips and switches between single and double. Fewer blocks, fewer mistakes.25 min
  2. 2. Advanced annotation: fields, tables and calloutsProfessional drawings annotate themselves as far as possible. Fields, tables and consistent callouts reduce manual typing — and the errors that come with it.22 min
  3. 3. Sheet organisation and sheet setsA project can have hundreds of sheets. Consistent file structure, sheet numbers and a sheet set keep them organised, numbered correctly and quick to publish.20 min
  4. 4. Managing references on real projectsOn real projects, references come from many people and change constantly. A clear reference strategy keeps drawings aligned, fast and easy to send.20 min
  5. 5. CAD standardsStandards make drawings predictable: anyone can open a file and find what they need. Learn what a CAD standard covers and how to check drawings against one.18 min
  6. 6. Productivity: work faster in AutoCADExperienced drafters aren't faster because they click quicker — they use fewer steps. These habits and tools remove repetitive work.20 min
  7. 7. Practical drafting workflowsPut everything together: how a real drawing moves from a sketch or survey to an issued, revised set — and the checks that stop mistakes reaching site.22 min

Free KitWren tools for this course

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AutoCAD course: questions

Is this AutoCAD course really free?

Yes. Every lesson, exercise, quiz and project is free to use with no sign-up. Your progress is saved in your browser. You do need access to AutoCAD itself, which you can get through Autodesk's free trial or, if you are eligible, free educational access.

Do I need AutoCAD or will AutoCAD LT work?

AutoCAD LT covers everything in the beginner and intermediate lessons, and most of the advanced ones. A few features mentioned in the advanced lessons, such as some automation tools, have historically been available only in full AutoCAD; the lessons point these out.

How long does the course take?

Working through every lesson and project takes most people 25–35 hours. Many learners do one lesson a day; the projects take longer and can be done over a few sessions.

Will I get an Autodesk certification?

No. KitWren is independent of Autodesk. When you complete the course you can download a free KitWren certificate of completion, but official Autodesk certifications are only available from Autodesk.

Does the course use metric or imperial units?

Examples use millimetres, as most of the world drafts buildings in millimetres. Every lesson explains how the same steps work in feet and inches.

Free, independent learning material written for KitWren. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. KitWren is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Autodesk. We never provide software downloads, licence keys or cracks — use the official sources.