Wiley Mastering AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011
Contents
1. and you ll learn more about it in Chapter 21 You ll also see a navigation bar along the right edge of the AutoCAD window This bar offers tools you can use to get around in your drawing Basic tools like Zoom and Pan can be found here as well as some advanced tools for viewing 3D models Just below the drawing area in the lower left corner are the Model and Layout tabs These tabs enable you to quickly switch between different types of views called the model and layout views You ll get to see firsthand how these work in a section called Working with AutoCAD later in this chapter The Command window located just below the drawing area gives you feedback about AutoCAD s commands as you use them You can move and resize this window just as you move and resize other display components By default the Command window is in its docked position as shown in Figure 14 I ll elaborate on the Command window in the section Working in the Command Window later in this chapter FIGURE 1 4 Model and Layout tabs The Command UCS icon window and the A Cee e E status bar Command fsz sr pic amp ES z Window Tus rE Ed le a a A ee Status Coordinate readout Command line Bar Below the Command window is the status bar also shown in Figure 1 4 The status bar gives you information at a glance about the state of the drawing For example the coordinate readout at the far left of the status bar tells you the location of your cursor The too2. besides the drawing area is the Ribbon see Figure 1 7 This is where you ll be selecting tools to draw edit or perform other functions The Ribbon contains a set of panels representing groups of tools and features The name of each Ribbon panel is found in its title bar at the bottom of the panel Ribbon panels are further orga nized by the tabs that appear above them All of the tools in the Ribbon offer tool tips and cue cards that provide a short description to help you understand what each tool icon represents FIGURE 1 7 me Mee TIe Drawing dw A typical cue card l Home Imset Annotate Poametic Wew Manmge Output Espress Tods a Ribbon tabs from a Ribbon J CEE ote eh ek B S S e S Se Se Sp A panel tool tine Sr En we dh unsaved Layer state a Ribbon panels p E Polyline Creates a 20 polyline Draw Anmotaitia H Ribbon panel A 20 polyline is a connected sequence of segments created as a single title bars Planar object You can create straight line segments arc segments or a combination of the bwa i 2 a i Tool name 3 4 i i Description tutorial x 6 5 em PLINE Keyboard command equivalent Pr Fi for m hel See m biin dE Context sensitive help 9 10 CHAPTER1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE COMMUNICATING WITH THE COMMAND WINDOW AND DYNAMIC INPUT DISPLAY AutoCAD is the perfect servant It does everything you tell it to and no more Yo
3. icon don t panic If you don t see the icon or it doesn t look as it does in this chapter see Chapter 22 for more information Working in the Command Window As mentioned at the bottom of the screen just above the status bar is a small horizontal win dow called the Command window Here AutoCAD displays responses to your input By default it shows four lines of text The bottom line shows the current messages and the top lines show messages that have scrolled by or in some cases components of the current message that don t fit in a single line Right now the bottom line displays the message Command see Figure 1 4 ear lier in this chapter This prompt tells you that AutoCAD is waiting for your instructions When WORKING WITH AUTOCAD 15 you click a point in the drawing area you see the message Specify opposite corner At the same time the cursor starts to draw a window selection that disappears when you click another point The same message appears in the Dynamic Input display at the cursor As a new user pay special attention to messages displayed in the Command window and the Dynamic Input display because this is how AutoCAD communicates with you Besides giv ing you messages the Command window records your activity within AutoCAD You can use the scroll bar to the right of the Command window to review previous messages You can also enlarge the window for a better view Chapter 2 discusses these components in more
4. tool in the status bar Figure 1 16 Your view changes to show the full 3D model with the 2D representations of the model see Figure 1 17 2 Type PLANWW Your display changes to a two dimensional view looking down on the drawing as shown in Figure 1 18 FIGURE 1 16 Click the Model tab left or the Model eerie ee fa tool in the status bar right a FIGURE 1 17 3D model with 2D representations of the model 18 CHAPTER1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE FIGURE 1 18 Placing the zoom window around the clip Te First click here And then click here 3 Click the Zoom Window tool from the Zoom flyout in the navigation bar Figure 1 19 Remember that to open the flyout you need to click the arrowhead next to or below the tool FIGURE 1 19 py The Zoom Window is oes 7 Flyout tool from the Zoom Mh arrowhead flyout in the navi gation bar w Zoom Estent Zoom Previous Zoom Realtime You can also click the Window tool from the Zoom flyout in the View tab s Navigate panel Figure 1 20 or type the command Z FIGURE 1 20 2D Drafting i Lee Horne Pa The Zoom flyout Inset Annotate and Window tool in the View tab s Navigate panel Click the flyout arrowhead Select Window CQ Previous 4 The Dynamic Input display shows the Specify corner of window prompt with some options Look at the image in Figure 1 18 Move the crossha
5. angle you llseea rectangle follow the motion of your mouse 24 CHAPTER1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE 5 Click All from the Zoom flyout in the View tab s Navigate panel to get an overall view of the drawing see Figure 1 27 You can also click the Zoom All tool from the navigation bar s Zoom flyout FIGURE 1 27 The Zoom All option gives you an overall view of your drawing fe 22 20 Drafting amp Annotation Home i Pa Parametric SQ le AES kal lB BEBA BIE 2 Bww Coordinates 3 Insert Annotate H I 6 Click the 2D version of the clip at the bottom of the drawing to select it A series of squares and arrows appears on the drawing These are called grips and you ll learn more about them in the next chapter see Figure 1 28 FIGURE 1 28 BEIE B chip we Grips shown in the 2D drawing Select this part of the Ds drawing aF ikae L dl alk Eh Mods Layout y Laot y ft Hi Hedel y Lenti y 7 Right click and select Clipboard and then Copy 8 Click inside the other drawing window to make it active 9 Right click and select Clipboard and then Paste The clip appears at the cursor in the new drawing FIGURE 1 29 The Tool Palettes tool opens a set of THEBOTTOMLINE 25 10 Position the clip in the middle of the rectangle you drew earlier and left click the mouse The clip is copied into the second drawing 11 This ends the exercises f
6. detail Now let s look at AutoCAD s window components in detail THE COMMAND WINDOW AND DYNAMIC INPUT DISPLAY The Command window and the Dynamic Input display allow AutoCAD to provide text feedback on your actions You can think of these features as a chat window to AuttoCAD as you enter com mands AutoCAD responds with messages As you become more familiar with AutoCAD you may find you don t need to rely on the Command window and Dynamic Input display as much For new and casual users however the Command window and Dynamic Input display can be helpful in understanding what steps to take as you work Working with AutoCAD Now that you ve been introduced to the AutoCAD window you re ready to try using a few AutoCAD commands First you ll open a sample file and make a few modifications to it In the process you ll become familiar with some common methods of operation in AutoCAD Opening an Existing File In this exercise you ll get a chance to see and use a typical Select File dialog box Before you start make sure you have installed the sample files for this book from the DVD See the introduction for instructions on how to find the sample files To start you ll open an existing file 1 Click the close icon in the upper right corner of the drawing area It looks like an X A message appears asking whether you want to save the changes you ve made to the current drawing Click No 2 Click the Open tool in the Quick Acc
7. the Application menu you ll see Recent Documents in the upper left portion of the menu You ll also see two icon tools named Open Documents and Recent Documents see Figure 1 6 The Open Documents option lets you quickly change from one open file to another when you are viewing your files full screen The Recent Documents option displays a list of documents you ve recently worked on You can use the View tool in the upper right portion of the Application menu to select the way the list of files is displayed in a manner similar to the way you would use the Windows Explorer View option You can click this icon and select Small Images to have the list display the files with thumbnail images of their content Hover over a filename and you will see a tool tip that displays a larger thumbnail of the drawing TAKING A GUIDED TOUR FIGURE 1 6 Pe etre 4 s Drawingt The Open Docu a Express Tog p Open Documents is liSle ments and Recent 3 Alr a Hocunentetoule Recent Documents amp Recent Documents By Ordered List 4 m Ei barcelona1 dwg a E 21 unit dwg E 202 unit dwg TA 17 extractsample dve List of Recent Documents alin 4 Save As E 17 Doorsample dwg E railsample dwg Export t E gatesample dwg bei E visibilitysample dwg Print gt oma E 17 unit dwg w Publish gt Re A Utilities P Close gt Options Exit AutoCAD Using the Ribbon The most prominent feature in the AutoCAD window
8. Access toolbar to open the Select Template dialog box If you see the Create New Drawing dialog box click the Start From Scratch button and select Imperial then click OK and AutoCAD will display a default document You ll learn more about the Create New Drawing dialog box in Chapter 2 2 Make sure acad dwt is selected and then click Open 3 In the View tab s Windows panel click Tile Vertically to get a view of both drawing files When you create a new file in AutoCAD you re actually opening a copy of a template file as you saw in step 1 A template file is a blank file that is set up for specific drawing types The acad dwt file is a generic template set up for Imperial measurements Another template file called acadiso dwt is a generic template useful for metric measurements Other templates are set up for specific drawing sheet sizes and measurement systems You ll learn more about tem plates in Chapter 6 Next let s try drawing a rectangle to see how AutoCAD behaves while drawing objects 1 Click the Rectangle tool in the Home tab s Draw panel as shown in Figure 1 24 FIGURE 1 24 Click the Rect angle tool in the Draw panel Notice that the Command window now shows the following prompt Specify first corner point or Chamfer Elevation Fillet Thickness Width AutoCAD is asking you to select the first corner for the rectangle and in brackets it s offer ing a few options that you can take advantage of at
9. L 2 Pant Dabs a cind wi Fyn nTa ne we CIRCLE i 4 Tan Tan 1 Presa Fi For mire bec p m CIRCLE Prs FI for marre hike yaendane of the damner Select 2 Point from the flyout and the default Circle tool becomes 2 Point TAKINGAGUIDEDTOUR 13 GENERAL TOOL NAMES VS TOOL TIP NAMES Since the tool tip names of tools with flyouts can change describing them by name can be a bit problematic The name may have changed based on the last tool you used from a flyout For this reason if a tool has a flyout I ll refer to it by a general name that is related to the set of tools ina flyout rather than by the tool tip name For example II call the circle icon tool the Circle tool rather than the Center Radius tool Likewise l Il refer to the magnifying glass icon in the View tab s Navigate panel as the Zoom tool instead of the Extents tool Zoom tool TOOLS VS THE KEYBOARD Throughout this book you Il be told to select tools from the Ribbon panels to invoke commands For new and experienced users alike the Ribbon panels offer an easy to remember method for access ing commands If you re an experienced AutoCAD user you can type commands directly from the keyboard Most of the keyboard commands you know and love still work as they did before Many tools and commands have aliases Aliases are one two or three letter abbreviations of a command name As you become more proficient with AutoCAD you may fin
10. Part 1 The Basics 0 o Chapter 1 Exploring the AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Interface Chapter 2 Creating Your First Drawing H Chapter 3 Setting Up and Using AutoCAD s Drafting Tools r Chapter 4 C ganizing Objects with Blocks and Groups ee a Chapter 5 Keeping Track of Layers and Blocks i T m T pe Chapter 1 Exploring the AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Interface Before you can start to use AutoCAD 2011 s new capabilities you ll need to become familiar with the basics If you re completely new to AutoCAD you ll want to read this first chapter carefully It introduces you to many of AutoCAD s basic operations such as opening and closing files getting a close up look at part of a drawing and changing a drawing If you re familiar with earlier ver sions of AutoCAD you should review this chapter anyway to get acquainted with the features you haven t already used Autodesk releases new versions of AutoCAD every year Part of this strategy is to introduce improvements that focus on a particular category of features This latest version AutoCAD 2011 includes several new features that are related to curves in both 2D drafting and 3D Modeling There are also a number of enhancements that allow you to easily select similar objects in a drawing The ability to make objects appear transparent has also been improved Autodesk has discovered that the number of 3D users is on the upswing so with this version you ll see som
11. UR INDUSTRY Before we move on you may want to know about the Initial Setup dialog box This dialog box lets you select the industry that is closest to the work you do AutoCAD will then set up a workspace with the tools that will fit the needs of your industry When you re more comfortable with AutoCAD you can go ahead and run the initial setup for your type of work You can always open the Initial Setup dialog box from the User Preferences tab of the Options dialog box See Appendix B for more on the Options dialog box The AutoCAD Window The AutoCAD program window is divided into eight parts Application menu Quick Access toolbar InfoCenter Ribbon Drawing area UCS icon User Coordinate System icon Command window gt gt Status bar Figure 1 1 shows a typical layout of the AutoCAD program window You can organize the AutoCAD window into any arrangement you want and save it as a workspace You can save and recall a workspace at any time using the Workspace Switching tool in the Quick Access toolbar you ll learn more about this tool in the next chapter The default workspace in Figure 1 1 is called the 2D Drafting amp Annotation workspace which is one of several workspaces built into AutoCAD Figure 1 2 shows AutoCAD s 3D Modeling workspace which has a different set of screen ele ments Figure 1 2 also shows a standard AutoCAD drawing file with a few setting changes to give it a 3D appearance Beneath th
12. cular tool For example AutoCAD lets you draw circles in several different ways so it offers a flyout for the Circle tool in the Home tab s Draw panel If you click the arrowhead next to the circle icon in the Draw panel you ll see additional tools for drawing circles see Figure 1 11 FIGURE 1 11 Pe 33 20 Drafting amp Annatatic Flyouts a Insert Annotate Parametric Views Ziel t WOA Tk Gd AR wh Unsave ae BB C1 0 diiy Click the flyout arrowhead to display additional tools Tan Tan Radius D Tan Tan Tan If you select a tool option from a flyout that option becomes the default tool for the icon you chose For example if you hover your cursor over the circle icon in the Draw panel you ll see that the tool tip shows Center Radius for the tool s name If you click the arrowhead next to the Center Radius tool and select 2 Point then 2 Point becomes the default tool and you ll see 2 Point for the name of the tool in the tool tip see Figure 1 12 FIGURE 1 12 The tool with a fly out will change to the last tool used Crnahes a cinch usir m CIRCLE Press FL for more help Home tres 8m i a i al ep EOE E HOARE ajk E F fa th eir iare Lar Sle 4 center aadis be l Vota me D ah Lup Sols ar Fh D Eh yoe Unerasd Lever Siei alaa e U al Ly a Center Diaria Oaea a Girdle unig bo aipania of the areca Point HE
13. d these aliases helpful As you work through this book the shortcuts will be identified for your reference Finally if you re feeling adventurous you can create your own aliases and keyboard shortcuts for executing commands by adding them to the AutoCAD support files Chapter 28 discusses how to customize menus Ribbon panels toolbars and keyboard shortcuts Picking Points in the Drawing Area Now that you ve seen the general layout of AutoCAD take a look at the coordinate readout and the drawing cursor to get a sense of how the parts of the AutoCAD screen work together 1 Move the cursor around in the drawing area As you move it notice how the coordi nate readout changes to tell you the cursor s location It shows the coordinates in an X Y Z format 2 Place the cursor in the middle of the drawing area and click the left mouse button Move the cursor and a rectangle follows This is a window selection you ll learn more about this window in Chapter 2 You also see a coordinate readout following the cursor and the message Specify opposite corner This display at the cursor is called the dynamic input display You ll learn more about it a little later in this chapter Figure 1 13 14 CHAPTER1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE FIGURE 1 13 i The Dynamic Input Epecfy opposte comer MEME 2 4453 Display cursor If you don t see the Dynamic Input display click the Dynamic Input tool in the status bar to tur
14. ditional options Finally the Dynamic Input display allows you to enter dimensional data of objects as you draw them Besides echoing the command line messages the Dynamic Input display shows temporary dimensions coordinates and angles of objects you re drawing and editing As you enter coordinate or angle values through the keyboard they appear in the Dynamic Input display You can easily turn the Dynamic Input display on or off by clicking the Dynamic Input tool in the status bar When the Dynamic Input display is turned off your keyboard input appears only in the Command window even see the tabs press the Esc key twice and type Ribbon Move the arrow cursor onto one of the Ribbon panel tools and leave it there for a moment you ll see a tool tip appear just below the cursor Hold the cursor there a bit longer and the tool tip changes to give you even more information about the tool In most cases you ll be able to guess what each tool does by looking at its icon The icon with an arc in the Draw Ribbon panel for instance indicates that the tool draws arcs the one with the circle shows that the tool draws circles and so on For further clarification the tool tip gives you the name of the tool As a new user you ll find these tool tips helpful because they show you the name of the tool and a brief description of how to use it Typically when I ask you to select a tool I ll use the name shown in the tool tip to help you identify th
15. dy to jump in and take a look proceed with the following steps to launch the program 1 Choose Start gt All Programs gt Autodesk gt AutoCAD 2011 gt AutoCAD 2011 You can also double click the AutoCAD 2011 icon on your Windows Desktop LT users will use AutoCAD LT 2011 in place of AutoCAD 2011 2 Next you see the Welcome screen which offers a set of tutorials and videos showing you the new features of AutoCAD 2011 Close the Welcome screen by clicking the X at the far right side of the title bar You can always get back to these tutorials through the Welcome screen option in the Help menu 3 The AutoCAD window displays a blank default document named Drawing1 dwg AutoCAD users may see the Sheet Set Manager palette to the left of the AutoCAD window LT users may see the Info palette to the left of the AutoCAD window If you re using the trial version you ll see the Product License Activation window before step 2 in the preceding steps This window shows you the number of days you have left in the trial version It also enables you to activate the product if you purchase a license Click the Try button to continue to the Welcome screen described in step 2 TAKINGA GUIDED TOUR 5 Now let s look at the AutoCAD window in detail Don t worry if it seems like a lot of infor mation You don t have to memorize it but by looking at all the parts you ll be aware of what is available in a general way CUSTOMIZATION BASED ON YO
16. e OnE Ss See oe The symbol appears at the cursor ready to be placed in the drawing Get a closer look with the Zoom command One of the first things you ll want to learn is how to manipulate your views The Zoom command is a common tool in graphics programs Master It Name at least two ways of zooming into a view Save a file as you work Nothing is more frustrating than having a power failure cause you to lose hours of work It s a good idea to save your work frequently AutoCAD offers an Automatic Save feature that can be a lifesaver if you happen to forget to save your files Master It How often does the AutoCAD Automatic Save feature save your drawing Make changes and open multiple files As with other Windows programs you can have multiple files open and exchange data between them Master It With two drawings open how can you copy parts of one drawing into the other
17. e Vier Manage Dubpt Ex ate ae 3 6 e o ee Par BeBe og LEAL 2B Meo werana workspace offers 4 Os Bl OWA i ea usean an alternative tea E E TE i IE At a b CE E Sold Eckbng ba Drm Hodiy ad arrangement of the elements in the AutoCAD window F Autodesk Library il k My Materials i 2 3 cre Soro ards Tiurai _WACURRENT Enter new wales foc WSCURRENT 745 DIretting Annotation gt JD Modeling TAKING A GUIDED TOUR 7 FIGURE 1 3 Quick Access toolbar InfoCenter The Quick Access toolbar featuring l ih jiannn TT h basic Wind Ribbon tabs i e a a a a sieaa BO DBE Male aalas file handling func Ribbon panels ee Bh ae A e venti re 2 5 Aok Ec tions appears T TE E above the Ribbon Ribbon panel title bars The drawing area occupies most of the screen Everything you draw appears in this area As you move your mouse around crosshairs appear to move within the drawing area This is the drawing cursor that lets you point to locations in the drawing area You ll get your first chance to work with the drawing area later in the section Picking Points in the Drawing Area Within the drawing area you see three items in the lower left and upper right corners The UCS icon appears in the lower left corner You ll learn more about the UCS icon in a moment see the section Using the UCS Icon In the upper right corner you see the ViewCube The ViewCube is primarily for 3D modeling
18. e new 3D features that will give you more freedom to create 3D shapes These features include some new ways to create surface forms and the editing tools that enable you to easily manipulate 3D solids and surfaces The Materials feature has also been improved to make it easier to create realistic 3D renderings You ll get a chance to explore these new features and many more as you work through this book Before you begin the exercise later in this chapter make sure that you have loaded the sample files from this book s companion DVD See the introduction for details In this chapter you ll learn about the following topics Use the AutoCAD window Get a closer look with the Zoom command Savea file as you work Make changes and open multiple files Taking a Guided Tour In this section you ll get a chance to familiarize yourself with the AutoCAD screen and how you communicate with AutoCAD As you do the exercises in this chapter you ll also get a feel for how to work with this book Don t worry about understanding or remembering everything you see in this chapter You ll get plenty of opportunities to probe the finer details of the program as you work through the later chapters To help you remember the material you ll find a brief set of questions at the end of each chapter For now just enjoy your first excursion into AutoCAD 4 CHAPTER1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE GET ADDITIONAL HELP ON THE DVD On
19. e tool In the case of a tool with flyouts the tool name changes under different conditions For those tools I ll use a general description to identify the tool You ll learn more about flyouts a bit later in this chapter see the section Understanding Flyouts As you work through this book I will ask you to select tools from the Ribbon panels You ll often be asked to switch between different tabs to select tools from other sets of panels To make the process simpler to read I ll use a somewhat abbreviated description of a tools location For eu If you see only the Ribbon tabs click the arrowhead in the Ribbon Control tool If you don t TAKING A GUIDED TOUR 11 example for the Line tool Il say Click the Line tool from the Home tab s Draw panel For the Move tool I ll say Click the Move tool in the Home tab s Modify panel EXPANDING PANELS In addition to the visible tools a few tools are hidden from view You can expand many of the Ribbon panels to select more tools If you see an arrowhead to the right of a panel s title bar you can click the title bar to expand the panel see Figure 1 8 The set of tools expands to reveal some additional tools If you move the cursor to the drawing area the expanded panel shrinks to its original size As an alternative you can click the pushpin icon in the expanded panel title bar to lock the panel in its open position FIGURE 1 8 The a
20. ese external changes the underlying program is the same You ll learn more about workspaces later in this chapter and in Chapter 28 In the upper left corner of the AutoCAD program window the red AutoCAD icon features the Application menu which offers a set of options not directly related to drawing I ll elaborate on this menu in the next section The Quick Access toolbar at the top of the drawing area shown in Figure 1 3 includes the basic file handling functions that you find in nearly all Windows pro grams The InfoCenter is AutoCAD s online help facility you ll learn more about it in Chapter 2 The Ribbon provides nearly all the commands you ll need using icon tools you ll learn more about the Ribbon in the section Using the Ribbon later in this chapter 6 CHAPTER1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE FIGURE 1 1 Quick Access Toolbar InfoCenter Atypical arrange a ment of the Application aS P F a y B aeai l e Orewing ova elements in the Menu PE Laal Aeon Wew Fuge Uupo Eee luba E 71 Dll ge Feb Col Se Sl 1 wiles il AutoCAD window Ribbon a wl e ERM ae As at iremen par state A A The Sheet Set Man z 5 l i ae Arrian E Hek a r ager palette or Info palette for LT is closed for clarity Drawing Area ViewCube Navigation Bar UCS Command i e Window H o FB Status Bar FIGURE 1 2 m Drawing dwa a The D Mo delin Solel leart uka
21. ess toolbar to open the Select File dialog box This is a typical Windows file dialog box with an added twist In the large Preview box on the right you can preview a drawing before you open it thereby saving time while searching for files To the left is a panel known as the Places list in which you can find frequently used locations on your computer or the Internet see Figure 1 14 If you don t see a Preview box in the Select File dialog box click the word Views in the upper right corner and select Preview from the list that appears 16 CHAPTER1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE FIGURE 1 14 4 Select File x The Select File Look iy Chanter a HEQE views Tok dialog box ae a extra Samples Type dubol ad Drawing Date Modified Thursday March 19 2009 4 57 15 PM Size 253 KE Author Created With AutoCat 2010 ES Cl Select Initial view Fene ees wen Fles ol ype 3 In the Select File dialog box open the Look In drop down list and locate the Chapter 01 folder of the Mastering AutoCAD 2011 sample files You may need to explore the list to find it 4 Move the arrow cursor to the clip dwg file and click it Notice that the clip dwg file name now appears in the File Name input box below the file list The Preview box also now shows a thumbnail image of the file Be aware that a thumbnail may not show for files from older versions of AutoCAD 5 Click the Open button at the bottom of
22. ettes offer a way to add hatch patterns and other components quickly to your drawing They re great tools to help you manage your library of custom predrawn symbols Chapter 29 shows you how to use and customize the tool palettes The Bottom Line Use the AutoCAD window AutoCAD is a typical Windows graphics program that makes use of menus toolbars Ribbon panels and palettes If you ve used other graphics programs you ll see at least a few familiar tools Master It Name the components of the AutoCAD window you can use to select a function 26 CHAPTER1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE FIGURE 1 30 Select a tab containing predrawn Click on a symbol The tool palettes symbols you want to use offer predrawn Pe Soe symbols that you EGS es eS can easily place in al Ei your drawings e e ae F 4 Shoulder Screw se gt impeded Awer Rod S o impedi ted Sh hoks CTZ Imperial _ Roller Bes ng i Impera Teitch imperial Fqiipnant Laba Tngera if wahe Imperia i Hes Heed Bok Impeta beije emp es ey Haz Mut Petri Haz Siint OS Bok Sida Shoulder Srs T Hn corm Tables heth Stuct cel Ceciel Fecha Archita a add Suomibeods TES Metric C2 Tool Palettes All Paleties ala BP Rowe i ba l Lave E pae Freceinn F i toolpalettes lo executretool Specify insertion point ar Dasepoint sScsle HY I Ratata ap fl ees f
23. he Automatic Save file is stored in C Documents and Settings User Name Local Settings Temp You can find the exact location for your system by typing Savefilepath at the Command prompt This file location is often set as a hidden folder so you may need to set up Windows Explorer to display hidden folders before you can get to the Automatic Save file You can also specify a different loca tion for the Automatic Save files See Appendix B for information on how to locate hidden files and specify a location for your files 22 CHAPTER1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE In this exercise first you issued the Erase command and then you selected an object by using a pickbox to click it The pickbox tells you that you must select items on the screen and it shows you what you re about to select by highlighting objects as you hover the cursor over them Once you ve clicked an object or a set of objects press to move on to the next step This sequence of steps is common to many of the commands you ll work with in AutoCAD You can also click an object or a set of objects and then press the Delete key Working with Multiple Files You can have multiple documents open at the same time in AutoCAD This can be especially helpful if you want to exchange parts of drawings between files or if you want another file open for reference Try the following exercise to see how multiple documents work in AutoCAD 5 1 Click the New tool on the Quick
24. ile under the name MyFirst For convenience you can save your files in the My Documents folder A 2 From the Home tab s Modify panel click the Erase tool the one with a pencil eraser touching paper This activates the Erase command WORKING WITH AUTOCAD 21 Notice that the cursor has turned into a small square This square is called the pickbox You also see Select objects in the Command window and the Dynamic Input display This message helps remind new users what to do 3 Move the pickbox over the drawing placing it on various parts of the clip Don t click anything yet Notice that as you hover your cursor over objects with the pickbox they re highlighted This helps you see the objects that the pickbox is likely to select should you click the left mouse button 4 Place the pickbox on the crosshatch pattern of the clip see Figure 1 23 and click The crosshatch changes in appearance from a dark highlight to a light highlight The pickbox and the Select objects prompt remain indicating that you can continue to select objects 5 Press J The crosshatch disappears You ve just erased a part of the drawing FIGURE 1 23 Erasing a portion of the clip Click here iss Real World Scenario I CAN T FIND MY AUTOMATIC SAVES Asan IT manager at ELS Architecture and Urban Planning one of the most common questions get is Where does AutoCAD put the Automatic Save files By default in Windows XP t
25. ir cursor to a location similar to the one shown in the figure then left click the mouse Move the cursor and the rect angle appears with one corner fixed on the point you just picked the other corner follows the cursor WORKING WITH AUTOCAD 19 5 The Dynamic Input display now shows the Specify first corner and Specify Opposite corner prompts Position the other corner of the zoom window so it encloses the lower image of the clip as shown in Figure 1 18 and left click the mouse again The clip enlarges to fill the screen In this exercise you used the Window option of the Zoom command to define an area to enlarge for your close up view You saw how AutoCAD prompts you to indicate first one corner of the window selection and then the other These messages are helpful for first time users of AutoCAD You ll use the Window option frequently not just to define views but also to select objects for editing Getting a close up view of your drawing is crucial to working accurately but you ll often want to return to a previous view to get the overall picture To do so choose Previous from the Zoom flyout in the View tab s Navigate panel Figure 1 21 he Soko Home Ineet Annotate Param 0 O EBLE ve AE eela i 2 world Coordinates FIGURE 1 21 The Zoom Previous option Ld Window nal Previous Do this now and the previous view the one showing the entire clip returns to the screen You can also find the Zoom P
26. ls in the sta tus bar offer aids to the drafting process 8 CHAPTER1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE Using the Application Menu The Application menu offers tools to help you manage your AutoCAD files It is basically the File pull down menu from previous versions of AutoCAD Try it out to see how it works firsthand 1 Click the Application menu icon A list of options appears 2 Move the highlight cursor slowly down the list of options in the left column As you highlight the options additional options appear in a column to the right 3 Highlight the Export option to see the different formats available for export see Figure 1 5 FIGURE 1 5 Sa a The Export option o in the Application the list of export O DWF e J Creates a DWF file and allows you to set options page sebup overrides Fx Creates a DWFx file and allows you to set page setup oven gt 30D DWF Creates and displays a DWF or DW file of your 2D model in the DWF Viewer PDF Creates a PDF file and allows you to set Export to a different format or more DON files from the Press Fl for more help bwing l Creates a PEX file based on the current drawing 5 Other Formats Export the drawing to another file fomnat Options Edt AutoCAD The Application menu also gives you a convenient way to find recently used files or to get to a file you already have open If you move your cursor away from the list of options to the left in
27. n it on 3 Move the cursor a bit in any direction then click the left mouse button again Notice that the window selection disappears as does the Dynamic Input display 4 Try picking several more points in the drawing area Notice that as you click the mouse you alternately start and end a window selection If you happen to click the right mouse button a shortcut menu appears A right click frequently Opens a menu containing options that are context sensitive This means the contents of the shortcut menu depend on the location where you right click as well as the command that is active at the time If there are no appropriate options at the time of the right click AutoCAD treats the right click as an J You ll learn more about these options as you progress through the book For now if you happen to open this menu by accident press the Esc key to close it Using the UCS Icon In the lower left corner of the drawing area you see an L shaped line This is the User Coordinate System UCS icon which tells you your orientation in the drawing This icon becomes helpful as you start to work with complex 2D drawings and 3D models The X and Y indicate the X and Y axes of your drawing Chapter 22 discusses this icon in detail For now you can use it as a ref erence to tell you the direction of the axes IF YOU CAN T FIND THE UCS ICON The UCS icon can be turned on and off so if you re on someone else s system and you don t see the
28. or this chapter Save the new file as My Clip and then exit AutoCAD You don t have to save the clip dwg file Note that you ve had two files open at once You can have as many files open as you want as long as your computer has adequate memory to accommodate them You can control the indi vidual document windows as you would any window using the window control buttons in the upper right corner of the document window Adding a Predrawn Symbol with the Tool Palettes In the preceding exercise you saw how you can easily copy an object from one file to another by using the standard Windows Cut and Paste feature AutoCAD offers several tool palettes that enable you to click and drag predrawn objects into your drawing You can open the tool palettes by clicking the Tool Palettes tool in the View tab s Palettes panel as shown in Figure 1 29 View tab Tool Palettes tool in the Palettes panel tool palettes ee clip dwg Bape Manage Output Express Tools E A pEi wireframe E Ei E H Eb s l a i z z 4 Gh op a 2 E Tool Properties l Ea Palettes u Visual Styles x Whewports Once the tool palettes are open you can select a tab in the tool palettes containing the pre drawn objects you want to use and then click the specific object you want to add The object appears at the cursor ready for you to select a location see Figure 1 30 In addition to predrawn objects the tool pal
29. revious option in the navigation bar s Zoom flyout You can quickly enlarge or reduce your view by using the Zoom Realtime option of the Zoom command Follow these steps to change your view with Zoom Realtime 1 Click the Zoom Realtime tool from the navigation bar s Zoom flyout You can also right click in the drawing area and select Zoom from the shortcut menu or select Zoom Realtime from Zoom flyout on the View tab s Navigate panel 2 Place the Zoom Realtime cursor slightly above the center of the drawing area and then click and drag downward Your view zooms out to show more of the drawing 3 While still holding the left mouse button move the cursor upward Your view zooms in and enlarges When you have a view similar to the one shown in Figure 1 22 release the mouse button Don t worry if you don t get exactly the same view as the figure This is just for practice 4 You re still in Zoom Realtime mode Click and drag the mouse again to see how you can further adjust your view To exit you can select another command besides a Zoom or Pan press the Esc key or right click your mouse and choose Exit from the shortcut menu 5 Right click now and choose Exit from the shortcut menu to exit the Zoom Realtime command 20 CHAPTER1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE FIGURE 1 22 The final view you want to achieve in step 3 of the exercise If you prefer you can use the wheel on your mouse to zoom and pan o
30. rrowhead atri in the panel title P rolt E Cial ot BOA E bar tells you that ml t e une EE move EAA il a Line Mowe Cty il oe r m additional tools E e Modify 2 are available Dran Mo 7 Click the title bar to expand the panel Pushpin icon From now on Ill refer to the location of additional tools as the expanded panel For example I ll say Click the Ray tool in the expanded Draw panel when I want you to select the Ray tool If you are working on a smaller screen with low resolution some of the Ribbon panels to the far right may look different from what you are shown in this book On a low resolution screen AutoCAD will automatically reduce the size of the panels to the right so they show only their title Figure 1 9 FIGURE 1 9 a z a Dy r The Properties insert 4 Properties Utilities aa Utilities and Clip board panels are reduced to single icons with a smaller AutoCAD window wa To see the tools hover over the panel Figure 1 10 FIGURE 1 10 F Hover over the iy panel to see the tools gt 12 CHAPTER1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE UNDERSTANDING FLYOUTS One more feature you ll want to know about are the flyouts Flyouts are similar to the expanded panels because you can click an arrowhead to gain access to additional tools Unlike a whole panel however flyouts give you access to different methods for using a parti
31. the DVD accompanying this book you II find a set of video tutorials that you can complete to practice the concepts presented in this chapter Four tutorials give you an overview of the main topics of this chapter The video entitled The AutoCAD Window covers the highlights of the mate rial in Taking a Guided Tour The video entitled Getting Started and a Closer Look touches on some of the material in Working with AutoCAD Saving a File as you Work covers the material from the section with the same name in this chapter Finally Opening Multiple Files covers the material in Working with Multiple Files While they don t follow the exercise in this chapter word for word these videos show you how AutoCAD behaves in real time thereby giving you a more direct experience of the program AUTOCAD REFERENCES IN THIS BOOK In this chapter and throughout the rest of the book when 1 say AutoCAD I mean both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Some topics apply only to AutoCAD In those situations you Il see an icon indicating that the topic applies only to AutoCAD and not to AutoCAD LT If you re using AutoCAD LT 2011 these icons can help you focus on the topics that are more relevant to your work AutoCAD 2011 is designed to run on Windows XP and Windows Vista This book was written using AutoCAD 2011 running on Windows XP Professional Launching AutoCAD If you already installed AutoCAD see Appendix B and are rea
32. the Select File dialog box AutoCAD opens the clip dwg file as shown in Figure 1 15 The clip dwg file opens to display a layout view of the drawing A layout is a type of view in which you lay out different views of your drawing in preparation for printing You can tell you are in a layout view by the white area over the gray background This white area represents your drawing on a printed page This view is like a print preview FIGURE 1 15 The Layout1 view of the clip dwg file WORKING WITH AUTOCAD 17 Also note that the AutoCAD window s title bar displays the name of the drawing This offers easy identification of the file This particular file contains both 2D drawings and a 3D model of a typical locking clip The layout view shows a top front and right side view as well as an isometric view Getting a Closer Look One of the most frequently used commands is Zoom which gives you a closer look at part of your drawing This command offers a variety of ways to control your view In this section you ll enlarge a portion of the clip drawing to get a more detailed look To tell AutoCAD which area you want to enlarge you use what is called a zoom window You ll start by switching to a Model Space view of the drawing The Model Space view places you in a workspace where you do most of your drawing creation and editing Follow these steps 1 Click the Model tab below the drawing area or if you don t see the tab click the Model
33. this point in the command Don t worry about those options right now You ll have an opportunity to learn about command options in Chapter 2 You also see the same prompt minus the bracketed options in the Dynamic Input display at the cursor You can view the command options at the cursor by pressing the down arrow key on your keyboard WORKING WITH AUTOCAD 23 2 Click a point roughly in the lower left corner of the drawing area as shown in Figure 1 25 Now as you move your mouse a rectangle follows the cursor with one corner fixed at the position you just selected You also see the following prompt in the Command window with a similar prompt in the Dynamic Input display Specify other corner point or Area Dimensions Rotation FIGURE 1 25 Click here to start the rectangle Selecting the first point of a rectangle r s Drawing El ihe chip deg Ol x a i Ei r ao IG Oh u mi o r ha Seeefy fest comer pater Cl msi 2 7588 a HW al eH Wedel g Camal f a aj ilf Moda a Lepmdl E Lat of 3 Click another point anywhere in the upper right region of the drawing area A rectangle appears see Figure 1 26 You ll learn more about the different cursor shapes and what they mean in Chapter 2 4 Let s try copying objects between these two files Click in the window with the clip drawing to make it active FIGURE 1 26 E Drawing2 dwg After you ve selected the first point of the rect
34. u communicate with AutoCAD by using tools and menu options These devices invoke AutoCAD commands A command is a single word instruction you give to AutoCAD telling it to do something such as draw a line the Line tool in the Draw Ribbon panel or erase an object the Erase tool in the Modify Ribbon panel Whenever you invoke a command by either typing it or selecting a menu option or tool AutoCAD responds by presenting messages to you in the Command window and the Dynamic Input display or by displaying a dialog box The messages in the Command window orin the Dynamic Input display often tell you what to do next or they may display a list of options A single command often presents a series of messages which you answer to complete the command These messages serve as an aid to new users who need a little help If you ever get lost while using a command or forget what you re supposed to do look at the Command window for clues As you become more comfortable with AutoCAD you ll find that you won t need to refer to these messages as frequently As an additional aid you can right click to display a context sensitive shortcut menu That is if you re in the middle of a command this menu displays a list of options specifically related to that command For example if you right click your mouse before picking the first point for the Rectangle command amenu opens displaying the same options that are listed in the Command prompt plus some ad
35. ver your view Roll the wheel to zoom in and out or click and drag the wheel to pan Be aware that Zoom Realtime offers finer control over the amount of magnification compared to the mouse wheel As you can see from this exercise you have a wide range of options for viewing your drawings just by using a few tools These tools are all you need to control the display of 2D drawings Saving a File as You Work It s a good idea to save your file periodically as you work on it As with any Windows program you can save it under its original name click the Save tool on the Quick Access toolbar or under a different name choose Save As from the Application menu thereby creating a new file By default AutoCAD automatically saves your work at 10 minute intervals under a name that is a combination of the current filename plus a number and that ends with the sv filename extension this is known as the Automatic Save feature Using settings in the Options dialog box or system variables you can change the name of the autosaved file and control the time between autosaves See The Open and Save Tab in Appendix B for details Making Changes You ll frequently make changes to your drawings One of AutoCAD s primary advantages is the ease with which you can make changes The following exercise shows you a typical sequence of operations involved in changing a drawing 1 Use the Save As option in the Application menu to save the current clip dwg f
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