How Do You Turn AutoCAD On?

AutoCAD starts like any other modern Windows program, which means there are a few possible ways to start it.

Start AutoCAD Using a Desktop Icon

A desktop icon is one of the images on the main screen (the desktop) of a modern computer. When you install AutoCAD from a set of CDs, the setup program creates one or more icons on the desktop that you can use to start AutoCAD. If you purchased one of the specialized versions of AutoCAD, and you want to start just plain AutoCAD, not the specialized version, you can inspect closely all the icons and choose the one that promises to be most like plain AutoCAD.

I rarely use this method to start AutoCAD.

Start AutoCAD Using the Start Programs Menu

There is a Start button that sometimes looks like a Windows logo normally on the lower left corner of a Windows computer screen. If you click it, then click Programs or All Programs, you can usually find an Autodesk or AutoCAD menu, and under it you can usually find an AutoCAD program item to select that will start AutoCAD. If you purchased one of the specialized versions of AutoCAD, and you want to start just plain AutoCAD, not the specialized version, you can inspect closely all the items and choose the one that promises to be most like plain AutoCAD.

I rarely use this method to start AutoCAD.

Start AutoCAD From Windows Explorer

If you have already started and closed AutoCAD once, you can start it subsequently by double-clicking on a drawing in a folder shown to you in Windows Explorer (the folder browser on your computer). This is the way I normally start AutoCAD because this method makes that drawing's folder the AutoCAD working folder, which can come in handy if you want to insert blocks, make blocks, or use lisp routines or other files that are in that folder.

Bonus: If you type -INSERT MyLittlePony on the AutoCAD command line (assuming that block doesn't really exist), AutoCAD will give you a nice error message that will show you all the directories (folders) where it looked for MyLittlePony.dwg. And the first one shown is the working directory, or the directory you put Windows in before you started AutoCAD (the Start In folder).