How to get the dwarfs inside

dwarf-fortress

How do I order everyone inside when I'm being attacked?

You need to define a burrow for the safe zone, and a civilian alert that restricts movement to it.

To create the burrow
1. Press w to go to the burrows screen
2. Press a to add a new burrow
3. Size the burrow (remember, a burrow is 3d)
4. Choose a name, color, etc
To create a new alert
1. Press m to go to the military screen
2. Press a to go to the alerts screen
3. Press c to create a new alert
4. Name it with N
5. Now move the cursor to the far right column, which should have the burrow you just created, and hit enter to associate that burrow with your new alert. You'll see a green A next to the burrow when you have that alert selected.
To activate the alert (as the civilian alert)
1. Press m to go to the military screen
2. Press a to go to the alerts screen
3. Press enter while the alert is highlighted.
To deactivate the alert
1. Press m to go to the military screen
2. Press a to go to the alerts screen
3. Select the 'Inactive' alert state, and press enter