Table of Contents
Introduction
About this book
About the Author
Configuring your system
Customizing your Wheel Mouse
Lesson 1
Part 1. Understanding Computers
A Brief History of Computers & Software
Hardware
Software
Computer sizes and capabilities
What is a Clone?
Part 2. What is CAD?
Computer Aided Design
Why should you use CAD?
Why use AutoCAD?
Part 3. Buying your first computer
Part 4. AutoCAD’s system requirements
Starting AutoCAD
Using AutoCAD’s HELP system
Quick Help, on the Info Palette
Lesson 2
Create a Template
Opening a Template
Getting familiar with the AutoCAD Window
Drawing Area
Crosshairs / Cursor
Command Line
Status Line
UCS Icon
Origin
Function Keys
Special Key Functions
Pull-down Menu Bar
Dialog Box
Toolbars
Palettes
Methods of entering commands
Shortcut menus
Drawing Lines
Erase
Methods of selecting objects
v
Starting a new drawing
Saving a drawing
Back up Files
Opening an existing drawing file
Exiting AutoCAD
Exercises
Lesson 3
Circle
Rectangle
Undo and Redo
Drafting settings
Layers
Exercises
Lesson 4
Object snap
Running Object snap
Drawing setup
Drawing Limits
Units and Precision
Zoom
Exercises
Lesson 5
Polygon
Ellipse
Donut
Point
More object snaps
Exercises
Lesson 6
Break
Trim
Extend
Move
Explode
Exercises
Lesson 7
Copy
Mirror
Fillet
Chamfer
Exercises
vi
Lesson 8
Single line text
Multiline text
Tabs
Indents
Line spacing
Editing text
Background Mask
Scale text
Exercises
Lesson 9
Coordinate input
Absolute and Relative
Direct Distance Entry
Inquiry
List, Distance, Locate Point
Lineweights
Exercise
Basic Plotting from Model Space
More Exercises
Lesson 10
Moving the Origin
Displaying the UCS icon
Exercises
Lesson 11
Polar Coordinate Input
Using Polar Coordinates and DDE
Dynamic Input
How to enter Coordinate Values in DI tooltip boxes
Using Dynamic Input and Polar Coordinates
Polar Tracking
Polar Snap
Exercises
Lesson 12
Offset
Editing with the Properties Palette
Exercises
Lesson 13
Array
Rectangular
Polar
Exercises
vii
Lesson 14
Scale
Stretch
Rotate
Exercises
Lesson 15
Hatch
Gradient Fills
Editing hatch
Exercises
Lesson 16
True Associative Dimensioning
Grips
Linear
Baseline
Continue
Dimension styles
Creating dimension styles
Compare two dimension styles
Ignore Hatch Objects
Exercises
Lesson 17
Editing dimension text values
Editing dimension position
Modify an entire dimension style
Override a dimension style
Editing a dimension using properties
Exercises
Lesson 18
Radial dimensioning
Diameter dimensioning
Radius dimensioning
Angular dimensionig
Center mark
Creating a dimension sub-style
Exercises
Lesson 19
Aligned dimensioning
Leader
Special Text Characters
Prefix and Suffix
Exercises
viii
Lesson 20
Quick dimensioning
Editing multiple dimensions
Exercises
Lesson 21
Match Properties
Creating a Revision Cloud
Convert a closed object into a Revision Cloud
Revision Cloud Style
Wipeout
Exercises
Lesson 22
Arc
Dimensioning Arc Lengths
Dimensioning a Large Curve
Exercises
Lesson 23
Polyline
Exercises
Lesson 24
Editing Polylines
Join
Exercises
Lesson 25
Creating new text styles
Changing text styles
Divide
Measure
Exercises
Lesson 26
Starting from scratch
Creating New Layers
Color
Loading a Linetype
Layer control definitions
Model and Layout tabs
ix
Viewports
How to create a page setup for Paperspace
How to plot from Paperspace
Setting the Pick Box size
Exercises
Lesson 27
Creating / Plotting Scaled Drawings
Adjusting the scale inside a viewport
Calculating the Drawing Scale Factor
How DSF affects Text
How DSF affects Hatch
How DSF affects Dimensioning
Trans-spatial dimensions
Linetype scale
Exercises
Lesson 28
Blocks
Creating blocks
Inserting
Presetting the Insertion Point, Scale or Rotation
Re-defining a block
Purging unwanted blocks
Exercise
Lesson 29
Pan
Exercise
Lesson 30
Exercise
APPENDIX
A Add a Printer / Plotter
B Dimension Style Definitions
C Assign Lineweights to colors
D Background Plotting
E Metric Conversion Factors
F Drawing Scales
Index
x