AutoCAD Foundations

About seven years ago, the Autodesk AutoCAD CXD team started delivering new content monthly to help users learn features of the AutoCAD product that were often undiscovered or underutilized. This initiative was known as "Have You Tried." Over those seven years, "Have You Tried" has grown into a series of 65+ articles and has helped drive other content updates in the AutoCAD product help. However, there has always been something missing for new or returning users, as the articles were primarily written for those who use AutoCAD daily.

While AutoCAD has had the Hitchhiker’s Guide for many years, it provides an overview of what you should know but wasn’t structured as a learning guide on how to use the AutoCAD product. This is the gap that AutoCAD Foundations intends to fill. AutoCAD Foundations is designed for new or returning users and those who find themselves needing to use AutoCAD occasionally because they use Revit or Inventor for most of their everyday design work.

AutoCAD Foundations aims to deliver the right amount of information to get you started without overwhelming you as a new user. It is structured as a walk-through learning series that introduces users to the main workflows and features of AutoCAD through practical hands-on exercises and sample drawings, without diving too deep into the details. Each topic is packaged with some general conceptual information about a feature and workflow, and provides access to curated Autodesk Learning videos along with a series of often connected exercises to help you understand how to use the product.

AutoCAD Foundations is available today from the AutoCAD 2025 product help system.