With access directly from the AutoCAD LT 2012 interface, the AutoCAD® WS web and mobile applications enable you to stay connected to your designs over the web or from your mobile device.

Quickly find your design content based on file objects or text attributes. Autodesk Content Explorer creates an index of your data on local and network drives, helping you quickly access files.

Use an in-product browser window to directly access a wide variety of resources, including:

• Getting Started Videos
• The Online Help System
• Videos and tutorials
• Discussion Forums
• Blogs

Access commands more efficiently with Auto-Complete. As you type at the command line or the dynamic input field, AutoCAD LT displays a list with possible command names or aliases. Use the arrow keys to navigate to your choice or use the mouse to select a command from the list.

The Group function has been updated to make it easier to create, modify, and use groups. Objects in groups can be selected and edited together or individually as needed. This is different from objects in blocks, which, outside of the Block Editor, can only be selected and edited as a unit.

The power of multi-functional grips, previously available for polylines, splines, and hatch objects, has been extended to lines, arcs, dimensions, and multileaders. Simply hover over a grip to see the relevant commands and options.

You can now extend the landing of a multileader to the edge of its text rather than the edge of the bounding box around the text. Also, control the gap between multileader text and its frame.

The Files tab of the Options dialog now supports multiple folder locations for Printer Support files including CTB, STB, and PC3 files.

Quickly freeze a layer in all viewports except the current one with a new option on the right-click shortcut menu in the Layer Properties Manager.

The Fillet and Chamfer commands now display a preview so you can confirm the radius or distance values before completing the command.

You can return AutoCAD LT to default settings even if you have customized your installation, with the option of backing up your customized settings and files for later use.

The Sheet Set Manager organizes your drawing sheets, reduces steps to publish, automatically creates layout views, links sheet set information into title blocks and plot stamps, and performs tasks across a sheet set so everything is in one convenient place.

The UCS (User Coordinate System) icon now supports direct manipulation. Select the icon, then use multi-functional grips to move or rotate the current coordinate system.

Complete your 2D drawings with annotations such as text, dimensions, and hatches. Text tools include formatting options similar to Microsoft® Word, in-place spell checking, and fields that display referenced object and drawing properties. Mutlileaders enable you to add notes and callouts to specific objects. Intelligent dimensions display distances, angles, and arc lengths. Use hatches in a variety of patterns and fills to highlight important areas in your drawing. You can automatically scale annotations, so they are always the correct size for the current drawing scale.

Autodesk® Seek web service is your online source for building product specifications and design files. Search on the web or from inside AutoCAD LT drafting software, and download what you find directly into your AutoCAD LT 2D drawings. Upload your own content from AutoCAD LT to Autodesk Seek to share it with others in the Seek community.

DesignCenter™ enables you to access drawings, blocks, layers, and other content on your computer, your company’s network, or the Internet. Easily drag-and-drop the items you find into your current drawing.

Use standard shapes such as lines, polygons, arcs, circles, and ellipses, to create simple or complex 2D drawings.

Blocks are named groups of objects that act as a single object. Blocks are useful for creating repeated content, such as drawing symbols or standard components. Use the blocks provided with AutoCAD LT, or create your own. Adding attributes or dynamic properties to blocks enables them to accommodate different text strings, shapes, or sizes.

Attaching external references (DWG™, DWF™, DWFx, DGN, PDF, or image files) to your current drawing enables you to show information in multiple drawings without increasing file size. Update an externally referenced file, and those changes appear in the host drawing. Use external references to coordinate with team members and minimize redundancy in a drawing set.

New highlighting helps you identify external references by selecting the corresponding item in the External References palette when you select an external reference object in a 2D drawing. File references selected in the palette are highlighted in the drawing.

Access the Hatch command more easily through a contextual user interface, similar to the tabs for Tables and Multiline Text. Expanded object grip functionality enables direct editing of a hatch’s scale, rotation, and origin. Additional options for controlling the appearance of hatches include transparency, background colors, and gradient fills. A single command sets hatches to appear behind all other objects.

Attach hyperlinks to any graphical object in an AutoCAD LT drawing to provide connections to other files—such as drawings, project schedules, or web pages—associated with the drawing.

Organize your drawing content with layers to control the on-screen and plotted appearance of similar objects. For example, if you place all the text in your drawing on a separate layer, you can change the color of all the text objects by simply changing the layer color. Turn off the text layer to view or edit other information in the drawing.

Measure the distance, radius, angle, area, or volume of a selected object or a sequence of points with tools easily available on the Home tab.

Modify existing geometry with commands such as Stretch, Scale, and Rotate that change an object’s shape, size, or location. Easily create new objects from existing ones with commands such as Copy, Offset, and Mirror. Use the Align command to match two objects’ position, scale, and rotation.

Display 2D drawing geometry with more flexibility by applying transparency to layers or objects. Being able to see through transparent objects or layers to other objects enables you to gain control over the on-screen and plotted appearance of your drawings.

While AutoCAD LT software cannot create parametric constraints, it can view, use, or delete them if they have already been created with AutoCAD® software.

Maximize the flexibility of your drawings by using PDF files as underlays in your AutoCAD LT 2D drawings. If the PDF is vector-based, you can snap to key points on its geometry just as you would with a DWG™ or DWF™ file reference, increasing your speed and accuracy in tracing the PDF.

Edit polylines more easily with new and improved grip functionality. Use grips to add or remove vertices and to convert straight-line segments to arcs, and vice versa.

The Properties and Quick Properties palettes enable you to view and modify the properties of selected objects. While the Properties window can be always present and displays all properties for an object, the Quick Properties window only appears upon object selection and provides a shorter, customizable list of properties.

Dimension selected objects quickly and easily with the Quick Dimension tool.

Quick Select enables you to create selection sets of geometry based on object properties or type. For example, you can select all red circles in a drawing. Or you can select all objects except red circles.

Quick View Layouts and Drawings show you thumbnail images of open files, so you can easily go to the drawing and layout you need.

The Select Similar tool enables efficient selection of objects with similar properties. Use the Add Selected tool to quickly create a new object with the same properties as an existing object.

Use the Sketch command to draw 2D freehand objects, easily generating irregular shapes or boundaries.

Create tables that are easily resized and modified, and which can perform calculations using formulas similar to Microsoft® Excel software. Enter data manually, or link your table to data in an Excel (XLS, XLSX, or CSV) file.

Linetypes with text are always readable, independent of the orientation of the line.

Save specified views by name and restore them for layouts and plotting, or when you need to refer to specific details. Use viewports of any size, shape, and rotation to show multiple areas of your drawing on one layout.

Use the free* Autodesk® Design Review software to easily coordinate with team members and clients, replacing the paper process with a digital one. Review and mark up DWG™, DWF™, and PDF files with comments, sketches, dimensions, text, and stamps.

Autodesk® Seek web service is your online source for building product specifications and design files. Search on the web or from inside AutoCAD LT drafting software, and download what you find directly into your AutoCAD LT 2D drawings. Upload your own content from AutoCAD LT to Autodesk Seek to share it with others in the Seek community.

Publish, plot, or export high-quality PDF files directly from AutoCAD LT. TrueType® fonts in a drawing are exported as text, enabling you to highlight, search, and copy text in the PDF viewer.

With DesignCenter™, you can access drawings, blocks, layers, and other content on your computer, your company’s network, or the Internet. Easily drag-and-drop the items you find into your current 2D drawing.

Save and share files with complete confidence in the integrity and reliability of your data with DWG™ technology from Autodesk. The file format for AutoCAD LT® 2012 is the same as for AutoCAD LT 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2010, and AutoCAD LT 2012 can open drawing files from all previous versions of AutoCAD LT and AutoCAD® software. AutoCAD LT 2012 can also save drawings in a wide variety of formats, ranging back to R14 DWG and R12 DXF.

Send electronic drawing sets with confidence using eTransmit. Transmittal packages created with eTransmit automatically include all related dependent files, such as external references and font files, reducing the likelihood that information will be left out.

Coordinate with team members by using external references (DWG™, DWF™, DWFx, DGN, PDF, or image files) linked to your current 2D drawing. Update an externally referenced file, and those changes are reflected in the host drawing. Use external references to coordinate with team members and minimize redundancy in a drawing set.

AutoCAD LT® 2012 software is built with the same technology as AutoCAD® 2012 software and is interoperable with industry-specific AutoCAD-based software, including AutoCAD® Architecture, AutoCAD® Map 3D, AutoCAD® Civil 3D®, AutoCAD® Electrical, and AutoCAD® Mechanical software products. AutoCAD LT 2012 can view custom objects created in Autodesk products that use RealDWG™ technology. You can also display object data from industry-specific software by using object enablers.

Share and reuse designs by using PDF files as underlays in your AutoCAD LT 2D drawings. If the PDF is vector-based, you can snap to key points on its geometry, just as you would with a DWG™ or DWF™ file reference, increasing your speed and accuracy in tracing the PDF.

The Publish command enables you to create a multisheet DWF™, DWFx, or PDF file, or a paper drawing set by publishing the drawings to the plotter named in each layout's page setup. Use the Plot command to print drawings one at a time to a variety of formats.

Create tables that are easily resized and modified, and which can perform calculations using formulas similar to Microsoft® Excel software. Enter data manually or link your table to data in an Excel (XLS, XLSX, or CSV) file.

The Autodesk Asset Locator tool helps you manage your software licenses by identifying Autodesk® software product names, locations, versions, languages, serial numbers, and more.

The AutoCAD LT user interface is designed to minimize the number of steps required to access commands. The user interface groups tools by task, giving you easy access to the commands you need. It also responds to the selection of certain objects, presenting you with the appropriate commands for working with hatches, text, external references, and more. The Application menu holds common file-related commands such as Open, Save, and Plot, as well as lists of open and recently opened files. The Quick Access toolbar is another place to find frequently used commands. Customize it by adding or removing tools and adding separators between groups of tools.

Tailor your drafting environment to fit the way you work. Drag-and-drop screen elements to match your preferences. Or use the Customize User Interface (CUI) editor to control the precise location, appearance, and function of command icons, and to personalize mouse actions and keyboard shortcuts. Create new command sequences as needed, and place them on user interface panels for easy access. You can also migrate your personal CUI files from previous versions of AutoCAD LT to CUIx files that can be used with AutoCAD LT® 2012.

Use DesignCenter to access drawings, blocks, layers, and other content on your computer, your company’s network, or the Internet. Easily drag-and-drop the items you find into your current drawing.

Dynamic Input helps you keep your focus on the drafting area with tooltips that display information near the cursor. The information you see changes as you move the cursor or work with commands.

Use the Hide Objects and Isolate Objects tools to control objects’ visibility regardless of layer, so you can focus on the objects you need. You can also combine functions to isolate some objects and hide some of those that remain.

Organizing your drawing content with layers enables you to control the on-screen and plotted appearance of similar objects. For example, if you place all the text in your 2D drawing on a separate layer, you can change the color of all the text objects by simply changing the layer color. Turn off the text layer to view or edit other information in the drawing.

Autodesk provides several migration tools to make it easier to upgrade to AutoCAD LT® 2012 from an earlier version. The Migrate Custom Settings dialog appears when you first start AutoCAD LT 2012 and assists with the transfer of your custom files, including linetypes, hatch patterns, command aliases, and CUI files. Use the Customize User Interface editor to migrate prior customizations.

Import and export stand-alone licenses between computers with the Online License Transfer (OLT) utility. The OLT replaces the Portable License Utility (PLU) used in previous Autodesk® product releases.

Save time with the option of ignoring missing shape or font files when opening a drawing. Text styles with missing fonts are now identified with an icon in the Text Style Manager.

Use the QuickCalc calculator to perform calculations, convert units, and derive values from drawing entities.

Save time by placing your frequently used content—such as blocks, hatches, and commands—on Tool Palettes. Tool Palettes also make it easier to maintain drafting standards, because you can easily insert content in the proper layer with the correct scale, linetype, color, and other attributes.

Both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of AutoCAD LT 2012 software are supported on Microsoft operating systems including Microsoft® Windows® 7, Windows Vista®, and Windows XP software.

Increase productivity by using the workspaces provided. Or create your own to group and organize sets of  tabs and panels, palettes, menus, and toolbars. Easily switch between workspaces to fit your workflow.