Tipster Maaike Johnson sent in a tip about using the keyboard to tell AutoCAD what to do.

"This is a pretty general tip, but it works for me. Having done this for a while, I rely on the fast keys rather than the icons. It seems a lot faster to me than trying to find something that is three to four layers deep in some of the menus on the ribbons."

Notes from Cadalyst Tip Patrol: The tipster is right; this is a very general tip, but it's a good one. When entering information into AutoCAD, I recommend using the keyboard as much as possible. Keep one hand on the mouse and the other on the keys; that way you can enter the command directly into AutoCAD without having to move the mouse back and forth. If you are familiar with keyboard entry and with the keyboard shortcuts in AutoCAD, this method of input can be very efficient. Couple that with AutoCAD 2012’s autocomplete function in the Command line, and you can get to your commands very quickly.

If you aren't using keyboard entry yet, give it a try. Just like everything else in AutoCAD, the keyboard commands can be customized. Here are links to four Cadalyst Tips that demonstrate various ways to customize your keyboard inputs: 3738, 3404, 3366, and 3236.