Delete key does not work in AutoCAD

Issue:

When selecting objects in AutoCAD and pressing the Delete key on your keyboard, nothing happens. The selected objects are not erased. Additionally, if you use the ERASE command or click Erase on the Modify menu, the selection set is cleared and you are prompted to select objects again.

Solution:

To resolve this problem, s et the PICKFIRST system variable to 1. When PICKFIRST is set to 0, selected objects are not erased when you press Delete. Set PICKFIRST to 1 to enable noun-verb selection:

1. Enter pickfirst on the command line.
2. Enter 1 at the prompt.

You can now select objects and press Delete to erase the selected objects.

If the issue is hardware related, disconnect and reconnect your keyboard or try a different keyboard.

Additional information
The PICKFIRST system variable affects the selection of objects for almost all commands, and it is the system variable that is changed when you toggle the noun/verb selection setting.
When PICKFIRST is set to 0, you invoke the command first, and then select the objects to which you want to apply the command.
When PICKFIRST is set to 1 (default), you can either:

• Invoke the command first, and then select the objects to which you want to apply the command.
• Select the objects first, and then invoke the command to apply to the selected objects.

With the Sysvar (System Variable) Monitor in AutoCAD 2016 (and newer) products, you can configure a list of system variables whose modifications will cause an alert at the command line, or also with a balloon notification. Pickfirst is a good choice to have monitored by this tool, as its effects are far-reaching within AutoCAD.