QCad User Reference Manual

# 6 Command Line

QCad can be controlled either using menus, the toolbar, hotkeys or the command line (Figure 10). The command line provides a very efficient way to work with a CAD system. Experienced users often key in commands with the left hand while operating the mouse with the right hand. However, if you're not (yet) used to it, it might only be in the way. In that case you can switch it off using the menu

View - Command Line

Figure 10: The Command Line of QCad.

## A Word About Keyboard Focus

Whenever the command line has the keyboard focus of the application, all keyboard input will be consumed by it. You can see that the command line has the keyboard focus the command prompt is blue and a text cursor (vertical line) blinks in the command input line.

Sometimes it's quicker to work with hotkeys than using the command line. In that case you will have to keep the focus away from the command line and give it to the main application window. The easiest way to achieve that is to press the Escape key. If there's text in the command line, you need to press Escape twice - the first will erase the text and the second will release the focus to the main application window.

Now you can for example press the Z-key followed by the A-key on your keyboard to trigger the auto zoom command.

To give the keyboard focus back to the command line, you can either click in it or press the Space bar.