Wiley AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011: No Experience Required
Contents
1. Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD by menu you can quickly find the command you want Here are short descriptions of the other AutoCAD drop down menus View Contains tools for controlling the display of your drawing file Insert Contains commands for placing drawings and images or parts of them inside other drawings Format Contains commands for setting up the general parameters for a new drawing or changing the entities in a current drawing Tools Contains special tools for use while you re working on the current drawing such as those used for finding the length of a line or for running a special macro Draw Contains commands for creating new objects such as lines or circles on the screen Dimension Contains commands for dimensioning and annotating a drawing Modify Contains commands for changing existing objects in the drawing Parametric Contains commands for constraining objects or dimensions to spe cific values or parameters Window Contains commands for displaying currently open drawing windows and lists currently open drawing files Express Contains a library of productivity tools that cover a wide range of AutoCAD functions Express Tools are widely used but aren t officially supported by Autodesk They are a part of the default program installation but may be omit ted in a custom installation AutoCAD LT users do not have the option to install Express Tools You can turn off the menu bar by clicking the do2. Working in the Command Window section When the Dynamic Input feature is active much of the command window information is displayed alongside the cursor as well 12 E a M Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD Below the command window is the status bar see Figure 1 13 Gore eE FIGURE 1 13 The left side of the status bar top and the right side of the status bar bottom On the left end of the status bar you ll see a coordinate readout window In the middle are 14 buttons LT has only 11 that activate various drawing modes It s important to learn about the coordinate system and most of these drawing aids Snap Mode Grid Display Ortho Mode Object Snap and so on early as you learn to draw in AutoCAD They will help you create neat and accurate drawings You ll have the chance to explore each of the following drawing modes aides throughout this book as a preview however following is a complete list with a brief description of each Infer Constraints When this is enabled AutoCAD will automatically apply con straints between objects as you create or modify them Snap Mode Restricts movement of the cursor inside the drawing area to speci fied intervals Grid Display Mimics a piece of graph paper by displaying a series of nonplot ting horizontal and vertical lines displayed in the drawing s background Ortho Mode Restricts movement of the cursor to 90 intervals 0 90 and 270 by defa
3. FIGURE 1 28 The Application menu showing the Print options Opening a Drawing with the Application Menu The Application menu offers a quick method for opening drawings You can even see a thumbnail preview of the drawings and arrange drawings that you fre quently edit so that they are easily accessible Here s how 1 To open anew AutoCAD file from the Application menu select New gt Drawing as shown in Figure 1 29 This opens the Select Template dialog box where you select a tem plate on which to base the new drawing Opening a file with a template is covered in Chapter 2 Learning Basic Commands to Get Started HF Crestes sheet set data file that manages wA drawing layouts file paths and project data FIGURE 1 29 Opening a new drawing from the Application menu 2 To open an existing file from the Application menu select Open gt Drawing as shown in Figure 1 30 Using the Application Menu FIGURE 1 30 Opening an existing drawing from the Application menu This opens the Select File dialog box where you can navigate to the desired drawing file and select it To open a file that you ve worked on recently click the Recent Documents button at the top of the Application menu s left pane This displays the most recent files opened in AutoCAD in the right pane as shown in Figure 1 31 FS Cabind Sc Imperialdea F Cabin Sh Matic hey H See E Cabelsh Impera deg H Cebind de Memicdwg Ly Ew
4. gone LT appears in the through the drop down panel With the Communication Center you can choose title bar rather than to have information such as software updates product support or websites such AutoCAD as blogs using Really Simple Syndication RSS feeds sent directly to your system With the Favorites tool you can define a list of help or informational topics that can be quickly accessed whenever you need them The Help button is a direct link to the AutoCAD help system also accessible by pressing the F1 key The blank middle section of the screen is called the drawing area Notice the movable crosshair cursor see Figure 1 11 The crosshairs on your cursor might extend completely across the screen Later in this chapter you ll see how to modify the length of the crosshairs as well as make a few other changes Command Cancel Command Cancel Command Cancel FIGURE 1 11 The crosshair cursor placed near the UCS icon Introducing the AutoCAD Application Window 11 Notice the little box at the intersection of the two crosshair lines This is one of several forms of the AutoCAD cursor known in this form as the Aperture When you move the cursor off the drawing area it changes to the standard Windows pointing arrow As you begin using commands it will take on other forms depend ing on which step of a command you re performing The icon composed of two lines labeled X and Y in the lower left corner of the dra
5. t been directed to make any significant changes to the workspace but when you do you can save this setup as a new workspace Using this feature you can always return to your preferred layout by activating the saved layout Follow these steps 1 Click the Workspace Switching drop down list next to the Application menu or on the right side of the status bar and choose Save Current As from the menu as shown on the left in Figure 1 38 This opens the Save Workspace dialog box shown on the right in Figure 1 38 Piaf i220 Dra ting amp Annotation ES Format Tools FIGURE 1 38 The Save Workspace dialog box 2 Enter a name for the workspace and click Save The dialog box closes and you are returned to your workspace Until you change it or select a different workspace the new workspace setup will remain as it is now When you make changes to the new workspace by adding a toolbar or chang ing the background color of the drawing area you can easily update the current workspace to accommodate those changes Follow steps 1 and 2 naming the workspace again with the same name You ll get a warning window telling you that a workspace by that name already exists and asking you whether you want the new arrangement to replace the old one Click Yes 33 34 Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD Using the Keyboard The keyboard is an important tool for entering data and commands If you re a good typist you can gain speed in w
6. size of your AutoCAD window or current screen resolu tion the Ribbon may look a little different on your computer That s because the Ribbon self adjusts according to the size of the AutoCAD window itself To see the Ribbon in its fully expanded state you need to be sure to have a screen resolution wider than 1280 pixels When the width is too narrow to display each panel fully the panels will begin to collapse first by replacing the panels with a single button bearing the name of the panel The Ribbon itself can be divided into three parts tools panels and tabs Ribbon Tools The individual icons and various drop down lists found on the Ribbon are known as Ribbon fools Clicking on any of these tools will launch the command associated with it Using the Ribbon 2 BOL Tl mea Move 2G on A Ribbon Tabs S S mH Lives dh io Urrserverd Longer Sata bi 7 Mulbkader 2 9 So E Layers Pee oT Large Tool Icon Button Panel Collapsed Ribbon Panel mE a 08H52 i Tee a orioa or parase Anm ie Home Ban A e a ata BORA p S SE SE Hi peo amp A E By ak Ursae Layer State z A el ES mm Oy we Famme ne View Manage Output bepress loots Lire Fikra Multiline Teat Tree i Prepestics Utilizes Clipboard d f AE E mo FA Draw Mohit Layers Annotation Mock Bylage amp Fart rdn oH y LEF E ByLayer Transparency i
7. standard workspaces 2D Drafting amp Annotation Utilizing the Ribbon this workspace shown in Figure 1 4 is considered the default workspace Unless otherwise specified this is also the workspace used throughout this book AutoCAD Classic Mimics the menu based interface utilized prior to AutoCAD 2009 3D Basics Provides the core tools needed to get started with 3D modeling inside AutoCAD For AutoCAD users only 3D features are not included in AutoCAD LT 3D Modeling Provides the complete set of 3D modeling tools found inside AutoCAD including materials via the Materials Browser For AutoCAD users only 3D features are not included in AutoCAD LT Initial Setup Workspace You may have one or more Initial Setup Workspaces if you have completed the steps inside the Initial Setup dialog box one or more times AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT offer numerous dialog boxes with various combina tions of buttons and text boxes You ll learn many of their functions as you progress throughout the book Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD Application Menu Quick Access Toolbar Ribbon Tabs Ribbon Panel InfoCenter F Trarcpar ul TE a Faris 3 View Cube Navigation Bar Cursor 9 UCS Icon Command Prompt Command Window Coordinate Readout Status Bar FIGURE 1 4 The AutoCAD Application window using the 2D Drafting amp Annotation workspace Switching the Current Workspace Whether you choose to develop your own custom w
8. the Ribbon to expose the Home tab s panels see the top of Figure 1 19 shown earlier Move your cursor over the Modify panel and pause the cursor over the Bring To Front tool button This exposes the button s tooltip as shown at the top of Figure 1 23 Displaying the name of the tool the tooltip also provides a brief description of its function the command line equivalent of clicking the tool and instructions to press the F1 key to open the AutoCAD Help file to the current tool s Help page t Annotate Parametic View Manage Output Express Tools oe B E E 5 5 g The A HF Linear ol fh A A Usaved Laver Stabe i Multiles wie Fi Frat ae c Ering to Front m Table Modify Forces selected objects to be displayed in front of all other 1 objects m DRAWORDER Press Fl for more help mt Annotate Parametric View Manage Output Express Tools E3 7 t OA k i EA H Linear all gh Al 4 wE c E e l l 8 oo Forces selected objects to be displayed in front of all other Modify obpects Ering to Front Use the DRAWORDERCTL system vanable to control the default display behavior of overlapping objects The TEXTTOFRONT command brings all text and dimensions in a drawing in front of other objects le DRAWORDER Press Fl for more help FIGURE 1 23 The tooltip for the Bring To Front command top and the extended tooltip bottom 3 After a few seconds of hovering over the Bring To Front button the toolti
9. the options found on the Welcome Screen when AutoCAD first opens is a What s New link see Figure 1 1 earlier This link leads you to the New Features Workshop Figure 1 2 where you can quickly learn how AutoCAD 2011 has improved over the last several releases and which tools you can use to augment any skills you already have In addition to the Welcome Screen you can also find the New Features Workshop through the Help button on the right end of the AutoCAD title bar The New Features Workshop is split in two an index of topics new features is listed along the left side of the interface which is complemented by a pane displaying information about a selected topic on the right see Figure 1 2 The drop down list in the upper left corner provides access to the New Features Workshops for other Autodesk products installed on your system Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD New Features Workshop Main Menu AutoCAD 2011 Ea _ b 3D Enhancements Auto CAD b Parenettic Drawing P Ovswing Took b Productivity __ Autodesk FIGURE 1 2 The New Features Workshop dialog box The Customer Involvement Program AutoCAD 2011 is among a large number of Autodesk products that provide the opportunity to participate in a customer involvement program CIP The CIP is designed to collect nonpersonal information about your Autodesk products and computer system to help the product programmers and developers design soft ware that best meets
10. under the File drop down menu in AutoCAD and many other programs When the Application menu is open the menus for these tools project from the upper left corner of the AutoCAD window and cover the drawing area and any open dialog boxes 1 Click the Application Menu button to open the Application menu 2 The left pane of the Application menu displays the different commands ER Clicking or hovering over a command displays a menu of its options in the right pane as shown in Figure 1 28 Be Care Outs p m double click the A bar with an up or down arrow at the top or bottom of the right pane Application menu indicates that additional tools are available You can display these tools as this will make by placing your cursor over either bar AutoCAD close 26 Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD Gutpet the drawing to a plotter or other de a haw Plat Mabe a craun bo a plother poke on file E la e i taich Plot E Publish mubeple heste or daming bo 9 H iy paiar rine DAF ce OF Mi F S Alot Prerew ef se OL Disoleys the drowing zs twil be plirttesd J View Mot amd Publish Details heey Disolys information about competed plot nd putish jobs Page Seba Controls the page katit plotting devioc E paper sie and other settings for each Mans Pleibors rey Dicks the Flotter Hensger where you con add of edh a plother configuration b Maag Fk Hyka Dipte the Flot State Hanger where wou oem news plot yla tsb les
11. you have selected Quick Ia Properties provides a contextual version of the full Properties palette near the selected object objects When nothing is selected the Quick Properties will dis appear from the drawing area Selection Cycling Provides contextual list of selected overlapping objects mak ing it easier to select the object objects you intended to select fj TEXT BASED BUTTONS OR ICONS Sometimes the status bar icons can be a little cryptic If you prefer AutoCAD can display those buttons as text instead of icons Enabled wo Use kons Settings Display Just right click on any of the icons and deselect Use Icons At the right side of the status bar are tools for navigating in the drawing area m and controlling the display tools for controlling the appearance of annotation objects in AutoCAD and tools to control access to other drawings or features within the current drawing The padlock icon controls which types of toolbars and windows are locked in their current positions on the screen Leave it in the unlocked mode for now To conclude this quick introduction to the various parts of the Application window you need to understand a couple of items that might be visible on your 14 Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD screen You might have scroll bars below and to the right of the drawing area although they can be useful they can also take up precious space in the draw ing area They won t b
12. your needs If you haven t yet agreed or declined to partici pate the Customer Involvement Program dialog box Figure 1 3 might prompt you to join when you first start AutoCAD Participation is strictly voluntary and if you choose to participate AutoCAD will periodically send a small file to Autodesk containing information such as your software name and version the commands you use and your system con figuration information An Internet connection is required and you must ensure that your firewall settings don t prevent the information from being transmitted Exploring the AutoCAD User Interface Once you dismiss all of the initial dialog boxes AutoCAD opens to display its default user interface or UI as it s sometimes called Collectively known as the graphics window the user interface can be broken down into numerous parts Starting AutoCAD Autodesk Improve Your Product Experience Join the Autodesk Customer Involvement Program CIP and reap the ves I would tke to particnpate Email Address Opbonal FIGURE 1 3 The Customer Involvement Program dialog box Many of these parts remain unchanged regardless of how the software is con figured whereas other elements may not always be viewable We ll discuss how AutoCAD chooses to configure the user interface shortly At this point however your graphics window should look similar to Figure 1 4 Standard AutoCAD Workspaces AutoCAD provides the following
13. By Lire r T Lisi Properties FIGURE 1 19 The Ribbon fully displaying all panels top and with partially and completely collapsed panels bottom Ribbon Panels Similar tools are grouped together into a series of Ribbon pan els For instance the Move Erase and Rotate tools modify objects Consequently each of these tools is found on the Modify Ribbon panel ete TOA Move E A dalz oa E Modify Ribbon Tabs Ribbon tabs offer the highest level of organization they group Ribbon panels by task For instance commands related to plotting printing are found on the Output tab whereas commands related to entering text can be found on the Annotate tab 19 20 Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD Displaying the Ribbon Tools The Ribbon s default location is at the top of the screen but it can be moved or docked almost anywhere on your screen Individual panels have a number of dis play options built into them as well In the following exercises you will have the chance to explore many of these display options Collapsing Moving and Hiding the Ribbon Available drawing area is always at a premium and you can regain some of it by collapsing the Ribbon When you click the Minimize button to the right of the Ribbon tabs once the panels are collapsed vertically showing only an icon for each Ribbon panel Clicking it a second time collapses the Ribbon further so only the tab and panel names displa
14. CHAPTER 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD Opening either AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT for the very first time can be an intimidating experience Faced with such an expansive collection of tools settings and more where is one to start To help you answer that question this chapter will break down the many components of the user interface into manageable segments and introduce you to basic operations such as opening drawings Even if you ve used earlier versions of AutoCAD you ll still want to review this chapter to become acquainted with some of the changes from recent years Although the 2011 release does have some subtle user interface improvements the interfaces are almost identical in AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Generally speak ing both platforms offer the same 2D drafting experience The biggest difference is that AutoCAD LT has no 3D capability AutoCAD offers many powerful tools for modeling in 3D that are not found in AutoCAD LT These tools are the topic of Chapter 16 Creating 3D Geometry and Chapter 17 Rendering and Materials With so little separating the two platforms for most purposes in this book I ll refer to both interchangeably as AutoCAD unless otherwise specified Opening a new drawing Becoming familiar with the AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Application windows Modifying the display Displaying and arranging AutoCAD tools Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD Starting AutoCAD If you installed AutoCAD u
15. D sessions using the Dark color scheme You can set the Color Scheme at the top of the Window Elements area and choose either Light or Dark N OTE The screen captured images in this book are taken from 2 Move to the Color drop down list which is in the upper right corner If your drawing area background is currently white a square followed by the word White is displayed Open the Color drop down list and select Black or the background color you want The drawing area will become that color and the cursor color will change to white as shown in the Preview window in Figure 1 17 i Drawing Window Cole Uniform back am J ars Sheet laygut roeshe 30 paralel projection j Dnt for X Y Z 30 perspective projection 1 ia editor Restore current element Commend line h rector Alot preview i anap marker ic din Restore current context Restore al contexts i Restore classic colors Civa Cna FIGURE 1 17 The Drawing Window Colors dialog box 3 Click the Apply amp Close button to close the Drawing Window Colors dialog box The background and cursor colors will change 4 Ifyou want to change the length of the lines of your crosshair cursor go to the lower right corner of the Display tab the middle of the right Working in the Command Window 17 side for LT and move the slider to change the Crosshair Size setting The crosshair length changes as a percentage of the drawing area C
16. awing dwg v AutoCAD 2000 LT2000 Drawing dwa eet Ria LTS LTS Drawing dwg oC AD Drawing Standarda sows AD Drawing Template dat pris AutoCAD 2010 DXF che Seer S007 LTA UAF Cache OAL AILT AM DAF cht mac AD A000 LT2000 DXF chet Aube TAD Ri2 LT2 DXF cbf Switching between Open Drawings As in many programs you can have multiple drawing files open in the same ses sion of AutoCAD Each drawing is stacked behind the drawings in front of it There are several ways to switch between the open files including using the Application menu as shown next 1 2 Start or open two or more AutoCAD files Open the Application menu and then click the Open Documents option at the top of the left pane The open drawings are displayed in the right pane as shown in Figure 1 33 Click on any drawing to bring it to the front of the AutoCAD window 30 Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD emer vO EE m E EB Open Documents a De oe Zi Drawingl dwg Law Open Ej o6a FPLAYS imperial awg Fag OGA FPLAYS Imperial dwg zo Ge FIGURE 1 33 Displaying the open drawings in the Application menu 4 You can change the way AutoCAD displays the list of open drawings by clicking the icon near the top of the right pane and choosing one of four sizes of icons or thumbnail images to represent the open drawings 5 Another option for switching between open drawings is to click the Quick View Drawings butto
17. cess toolbar and choose 2D Drafting amp Annotation as shown in Figure 1 6 Alternatively command line users can enter WSCURRENT 2d drafting amp annotation 3D Basics A a i JD Modeling Unsaved Layer State AutoCAD Classic r Q Pin E Save Current 4s Layers Workspace Settings FIGURE 1 6 Selecting the 2D Drafting amp Annotation workspace 2 The 2D Drafting amp Annotation workspace may display the tool palettes on the screen If the palettes are displayed you need to turn them off for now by clicking the X in the upper right corner Your workspace 8 Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD might have different palettes displayed than those shown in Figure 1 7 If other palettes are still visible click the X in the upper right or upper left corner of each palette to close them Cylindrical SE Helix 2 spiral Elliptical Cylinder i Frustum Cone Frustumn Pyramid i WA UCS UCS Pretous le G 30 Align FIGURE 1 7 The tool palettes CE Tool Palettes All Palettes 3 The large area in the middle of the screen is called the drawing area It might need to be adjusted On the Ribbon select the View tab gt Visual Styles panel gt Visual Styles drop down list and select the 2D Wireframe option see Figure 1 8 wage Output Express Tools amp Previous Vie Ls k E 1s ss T i E Sl T a i e Named Views a EE i E a es Sheet Set 2 Word r i k e Manag
18. e Commands _ Show Menu Bar b l FIGURE 1 35 Turning on the menu bar The left end of the menu bar just below the title bar see Figure 1 36 consists of an icon and 13 11 if you don t have the Express Tools installed or are using LT menus Click any of these to display a drop down menu The icon and the File and Edit menus are included with all Windows compliant applications although they are somewhat customized to work with AutoCAD The drop down menu associated with the icon contains commands to control the appearance and position of the drawing area e 32D Drafting amp Annotation i lca A F AutoCAD 2011 File Edit View Insert Format Tools Draw Dimension Modify Parametric Windo FIGURE 1 36 The AutoCAD user interface showing the menu bar Commands in the File menu are for opening and saving new and existing drawing files printing exporting files to another application choosing basic utility options and exiting the application The Edit menu contains the UNDO and REDO commands the Cut and Paste tools and options for creating links between AutoCAD files and other files The Help menu works like most Windows Help menus and contains a couple of AutoCAD specific entries as well including some online resources and a link to the New Features Workshop The other eight or ten menus contain the most frequently used AutoCAD com mands You ll find that if you master the logic of how the commands are organized 32
19. e fa EN cob ind Sa Imperial dwg Fey Cabind4d Harie Export Fa Cahn 4hl Imperata EN Cabinic Metrecadvey mt Th mane EF m e a HES FIGURE 1 31 Displaying the recent documents in the Application menu Hover over a filename in the right pane to display a thumbnail pre view of the drawing and additional information including the draw ing location and AutoCAD drawing format see Figure 1 32 27 28 Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD ER 064 FPLANY leporialdeg EN eae Last inperelateg FS perra inper side x CA Uwers annie eene Magie Briele Pas wana b Wileyiybe ACADNER H11 1 Manuscript atesett Chapter 06 Date modified 1222000 1 5545 AM Drawing Wersion infor Muna CAD 2000 i HiRes Lasi sawl kye nse F Cuncntly open by FIGURE 1 32 Displaying a thumbnail of the selected file OPENING NEW FILES You can open new or existing files using the QNew or Open button in the Quick Access toolbar Existing drawings can also be opened by dragging them from a Windows Explorer window to the AutoCAD title bar 33 2D Drafting amp Annotation I GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THE RECENT DOCUMENTS LIST The Application menu offers many time saving tips Here are two of the best ways to use the Recent Documents list gt Frequently Used Drawings For drawings you access on a regular basis and would like to remain on the Recent Documents list click the pushpin that displays next to
20. e left and the InfoCenter and a number of related tools sit on the right The title bar is analogous to the title bar in any Windows program It contains the program name AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT and the title of the current draw ing with its path provided a drawing other than the default Drawing dwg is open Below the title bar is the Ribbon where you ll find most of the AutoCAD commands and tools needed to complete any drawing task You ll explore the Ribbon in much more detail shortly however its basic concept is that related tasks are found under the different tabs which are further segmented into pan els containing similar tools 10 Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD Application Menu Button Communincation Center Favorites Quick Access Toolbar Program and Drawing Title Subscription Center Help Button nar Trobe s t LE l at 20 Wiekan cal Propartion Seat Sart a Nemed PAL paiete Manager a InfoCenter Ribbon O A FIGURE 1 10 The Ribbon Quick Access toolbar and InfoCenter The title bar and menu bar at the top To the far right of the title bar is the InfoCenter containing the Search of the AutoCAD LT Subscription Center Communication Center Favorites and Help buttons You can screen are identical i enter a question in the field to the left of the Search button to access information to those in AutoCAD from a number of locations including the standard AutoCAD help system quickly except that AutoCAD
21. e of any use while working your way through this book so you can remove them for now These features can be removed temporarily from the OPTIONS command The following steps will show you how 1 To access the OPTIONS command graphically click the Application Menu button in the upper left corner of the AutoCAD window and then click the Options button at the bottom of the menu see Figure 1 14 The OPTIONS command is also accessible from the command line by entering OPTIONS FIGURE 1 14 Click the Options button in the Application menu The Options dialog box shown in Figure 1 15 opens It has ten tabs LT has only eight across the top that act like tabs on file folders Click the Display tab which is shown in Figure 1 16 Focus on the Window Elements section If scroll bars are visible on the lower and right edges of the drawing area the Display Scroll Bars In Drawing Window check box will be selected Click the check box to turn off the scroll bars Also be sure the check box for Display Screen Menu is not selected Don t click the OK button yet Introducing the AutoCAD Application Window Search patha file names and file locations E Fy Support Fle Search Path ti 0E Working Support Fie Search Path i Device Driver Fle Search Path ti E Project Fies Search Path fF Customaaton Fies iF Hep and Macelancous Fie Names Move Up iP Text Edtor Dictionary and Font Fie Names fi E Pant Fle Sp
22. entioned New Features Workshop where you can learn about improvements that were made throughout the last several releases gt Learning Path This link is truly a launch pad to all things AutoCAD allowing you access to additional tutorials tips tricks and even links to groups and blogs gt More Videos Expands on the videos featured inside the Welcome Screen itself and provides access to many more videos to help you get started with AutoCAD gt Online Help An online version of the same help file that installs with the software Although the internal help file defaults to a local copy of the online help file if no internet connection is available this link does not and requires an internet connection to use Starting AutoCAD Autodesk Getting Started Videos Create and Modify 30 Meshes New Features Workshop Learning Path More Videos Online Help Show this dialog at startup FIGURE 1 1 The Welcome Screen featuring videos and links to help you get started with AutoCAD After exploring the Welcome Screen you may prefer to disable it from automati cally loading each time you start the software This can be done by deselecting the check box labeled Show This Dialog At Startup in the lower left corner of the Welcome Screen Even after choosing this option you can still access the Welcome Screen through the Help button on the right end of the AutoCAD title bar Exploring the New Features Workshop Among
23. er Coordinates u 2D Wireframe C Hidden istic Palettes i haded Shaded wi Shades of Gray Sketchy Wi ae K Ray Save as a New Visual Style Visual Styles Manager FIGURE 1 8 Selecting the 2D Wireframe visual style O A 4 If you re not still on the View tab click the View tab gt Views panel gt Top as shown in Figure 1 9 This procedure ensures that your view is can ko ADI and perpendicular to the drawing area It should be as though you were move on to step 4 looking straight down at a piece of paper on a drawing table AutoCAD LT users Introducing the AutoCAD Application Window If the drawing area looks like a sheet of graph paper it means the grid a drawing aid that you ll look at later is turned on Home Imset Annotate Parametric WISTE Manage i SE Isometric ES NE Isometric i NW Isonpetric View Manager FIGURE 1 9 Selecting the Top option from the Views Ribbon panel 5 Move the cursor to the left side of the status bar at the bottom of the screen and click the Grid Display button so it s in the Off unpushed with a gray not blue background position and the gridlines disappear Place your cursor over any button in the status bar to reveal its name in a tooltip Your screen should now look similar to Figure 1 4 Introducing the AutoCAD Application Window At the top of the Application window see Figure 1 10 the Ribbon and the Quick Access toolbar sit to th
24. ilding your own custom tabs and pan els to displaying only the buttons you want it s all possible There are several 24 Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD ways to customize the Ribbon and the overall user interface One of the easiest ways to custom tailor the user interface to the way you plan to use AutoCAD is with the Initial Setup Dialog box The Initial Setup Dialog Box To access the Initial Setup dialog box select the Application Menu button the big A icon in the upper left corner of the screen and then select Options This opens the Options dialog box where you can select the User Preferences tab and then click the Initial Setup button Finally the Initial Setup dialog box Figure 1 26 will appear prompting you to select an industry that most closely describes your work After progressing through the Initial Setup Dialog the software will custom tailor itself to better match the way people in your industry use AutoCAD For instance if you were to select Architecture AutoCAD would customize your Ribbon panels and tool palettes and it might also make changes to settings such as the default drawing template path Weloorrie back Tma ran eet queen Aube A1112 eee ama min crest tv al 1 L e TEANO dady deeonbkes pour wrk FIGURE 1 26 The first Initial Setup dialog box Because so many configurations are possible when using this tool click the Skip button if you open the Initial Setup dialog box Staying w
25. ings The next time you start AutoCAD the com mand window will display four lines of text The command window is where you give information to AutoCAD and where AutoCAD prompts you for the next step in executing a command It s a good practice to keep an eye on the command window as you work on your drawing Many errors can occur when you don t check it frequently If the Dynamic Input button on the status bar is in the On position some of the information in the command window will appear in the drawing area next to the cursor You ll learn about this feature when you start drawing 18 Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD 3 Command Cancel Command Cancel Command Cancel FIGURE 1 18 Resizing the command window Before you begin to draw in the next chapter take a close look at the Ribbon Application menu toolbars and keyboard controls i NOTE You can start AutoCAD commands in a number of ways from gt the Ribbon the Application menu the command window and the menus that appear when you right click When you get used to drawing with AutoCAD you Ill learn some shortcuts that start commands quickly and you ll find the way that best suits you Using the Ribbon Perhaps one of the most prominent elements of the AutoCAD interface is the Ribbon Figure 1 19 While the Ribbon can be positioned in a number of dif ferent ways its default position extends across the top of the AutoCAD window Depending on the
26. ith a generic setup will help ensure AutoCAD will both look and perform as shown in this book Choosing the Skip button will open the Initial Setup Changes Not Saved dialog shown in Figure 1 27 where you can Return to Initial Setup or Discard Using the Application Menu 25 changes and close Initial Setup To ensure AutoCAD looks and performs as shown in this book choose Discard changes and close Initial Setup Using the Initial Setup Dialog box is just one way to customize the look and feel of AutoCAD More advanced features such as the Customize User Interface CUI command allow you to customize nearly every element of the user interface You can even design your own buttons for commands that aren t already represented by buttons on the toolbars These activities are for more advanced users however and aren t covered in this book There are numerous resources available online from blogs such as your author s www TheCADGeek com George Omura s book Mastering AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011 Wiley 2010 provides a compre hensive look into customizing the Ribbon and more The changes you made have not been saved What do you want to do gt Return to Initial Setup gt Discard changes and close Initial Setup FIGURE 1 27 The second Initial Setup dialog box Using the Application Menu The Application menu contains the tools for opening saving and printing plot ting your drawings similar to the options found
27. its name This will pin that drawing to the Recent Documents list until you unpin it gt Maximize the Number of Recent Documents Out of the box the Recent Document list only displays the last nine drawings you ve opened This number can be increased to fifty by opening the OPTIONS command selecting the Open and Save tab and changing the Number Of Recently Used Files setting under the Application Menu heading Using the Application Menu 29 Mame qo Chapter 02 qo Chapter 03 qo Chapter 04 qo Chapter 03 qo Chapter 06 qo Chapter 07 qo Chapter 08 qo Chapter 09 qo Chapter 10 qo Chapter 11 go Chapter 12 gu Chapter 13 aa Chapterid 4 nir NOTE _ AutoCAD 2011 uses the AutoCAD 2010 drawing DWG file for mat This means that the files created in AutoCAD 2011 are compatible only with AutoCAD 2010 and AutoCAD 2011 You can share drawings with releases earlier than AutoCAD 2010 by performing a simple conversion To convert a 2010 format drawing to a prior version open the Application menu and then click Save As gt AutoCAD Drawing and choose the version you want from the Files Of Type drop down list at the bottom of the Save Drawing As dialog box Save in ACADNER 10 Dataaet s El A kd FA View Togs Preview J r E Update sheet and wiew thumbnails naw File name Drawing dwg Save Files of type mes MOA OTD Drawing l dwa SSE CECE Drs cura x AutoCAD 2004 LT 20M Dr
28. k it back at the top so that you can follow the graphics in this book more easily Using the Ribbon Show Related Tool Palette Group Tool Palette Group Show Tabs b F Show Panels Show Panel Titles Undock Close FIGURE 1 21 Undocking the Ribbon If you don t want the Ribbon at all you can turn it off by right clicking to the right of the Ribbon tabs and choosing Close To turn it on enter RIBBON You ll use the Ribbon throughout this book so be sure to keep it on for now Annotate Inset Home Move 88 O Modify SMEA Unsaved Layer State 0 Sof E Layers Linear f Multileader FS Table Annotation E z i 3 Multiline Text Output Ma m F Create ED E Edit Insert se edit Attributes Block ess Tools Expr FIGURE 1 22 The Ribbon undocked from the top of the drawing area Using the Ribbon Tools Each panel contains tools from a related family of functions For example all the common tools for editing objects in the drawing area are consolidated in the Modify panel When more tools are available than will fit on the panel an arrow is displayed on the panel s title bar Clicking the title bar expands the panel and 21 22 Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD exposes the additional tools Follow these steps to learn how the Ribbon tools work and how they display information i 1 Click the Home tab on
29. n in the status bar This displays thumb nails for the open drawings and you can click any thumbnail to make its drawing active Hovering over a thumbnail displays that drawing s layouts see Figure 1 34 Layouts are designated views of the drawing with scaled viewports looking into the drawing model Viewports are covered in Chapter 14 E Model Layo EN O6A FPLAYS Im FE O68 FPLAYB Im MAAE FIGURE 1 34 Displaying the open drawings with the Quick View Drawings tool Using the Drop Down Menus If you prefer to use drop down menus they re still available in AutoCAD 2011 although they are turned off by default in the 2D Drafting amp Annotation 3D Basics and 3D Modeling workspaces You can display them by switching to the AutoCAD Using the Drop Down Menus 31 Classic workspace clicking the down arrow at the right end of the Quick Access toolbar and choosing Show Menu Bar see Figure 1 35 or by entering MENUBAR 1 1 This book will focus on the use of the Ribbon the menus are covered here so that you ll be familiar with them if you use them in the future AutoCAD 2011 Home E hie ne Ci nn ne eee Customize Quick Access Toolbar 72 SOLS Jg Worzpc i Ej m k a ri Ab sf Unsaved Layer State ca it OG D E E Cl 9 Sef Bo __ rw Modify __ Layers w Undo w Redo w Plot Match Properties Batch Plot Plot Preview Properties Sheet Set Manager Render Mor
30. ooter and Prolog Section Names iF Panter Support Fle Path i i Automatic Save File Location it Color Book Locations i Data Sources Location H E Template Settings it Tool Palettes Fle Locations itt Authoring Palette Fie Locations GiB Log File Location Set Curent FIGURE 1 15 The Options dialog box Window Elements Color scheme Dark E Display soroll bars in dewing window Geplay Drawing statue bar E Dapa scean menu 1 Use lange buttons for Toolbars ft Show Tool Tina WE Show shortcut keys in Tool Tips T Show extended ToolTips 2 Number of seconds to delay Y Show rollover ToalTipe FIGURE 1 16 The Options dialog box opened at the Display tab Another display setting that you might want to change at this point controls the color of the cursor and the drawing area background If you want to change the col ors follow these steps 1 In the Window Elements area of the Display tab click the Colors but ton to open the Drawing Window Colors dialog box see Figure 1 17 15 AutoCAD LT doesn t have the screen menu so the option to turn it off isn t on LT s Display tab 16 Alternatively you can click the Restore Classic Colors button to set the background to black along with the other display contexts Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD In the upper left corner of the dialog box in the Context list box 2D Model Space should be selected If it s not select it AutoCA
31. orking with AutoCAD by learning how to enter commands from the keyboard AutoCAD provides what are called alias commands single keys or key combinations that start any of several frequently used commands A good example of a command alias that ships with AutoCAD is the LINE command Of course you could enter LINE at the command line to launch the command but typing the one character alias L is much quicker and easier You can add more aliases or change the existing ones as you become more familiar with the program In addition to the alias commands you can use several of the F keys function keys on the top row of the keyboard as two way or three way toggles to turn AutoCAD functions on and off Although buttons on the screen duplicate these functions Snap Grid and so on it s sometimes faster to use the F keys While working in AutoCAD you ll need to enter a lot of data such as dimen sions and construction notes answer questions with Yes or No and use the arrow keys You ll use the keyboard constantly It might help to get into the habit of keeping your left hand on the keyboard and your right hand on the mouse if youre right handed or the other way around if you re left handed Using the Mouse Your mouse most likely has two buttons and a scroll wheel So far in this chapter you have used the left mouse button to choose menus commands and options and you ve held it down to drag the Ribbon The left mouse button i
32. orkspace or just use one that comes with the software you may switch your current workspace at any time As you become more comfortable with the software you ll likely choose to build a workspace that better matches the way you use AutoCAD You ll be using the 2D Drafting amp Annotation workspace for the first 15 chapters in this book In the final two chapters you ll switch to the 3D Modeling Figure 1 5 workspace For now however you need to get your AutoCAD user interface to look like Figure 1 4 N OTE The illustrations in this book show the drawing area of the AutoCAD user interface with a white background however the default and preferred method is to use a dark gray or black background to reduce eye strain The color choice in the book is simply for readability Starting AutoCAD Hore BE anaqe e T Express La i l D J om QCeeo ear wore f yo 22228143 wr k ja mamin TER ane ool air ae imah a E i Is amp al Culling MaFilter Move Girma aes nee oet EF OB S a AT F Moteing Bata a bolo Ling Draw v Mach i b wonmbnshes a Voy Huan bp ery E Layer w Cursor Acoustic Ti Armin Acoustical a a a e ae CTR TTY Te FIGURE 1 5 The AutoCAD Application window using the 3D Modeling workspace Materials Browser Palette If your screen looks like Figure 1 5 or isn t at all like Figure 1 4 you need to make a few changes 1 Click the Workspace drop down from the Quick Ac
33. p expands to display the extended tooltip see the bottom of Figure 1 23 with a more complete description Pause the cursor over the Copy button in the Modify panel This time after a few seconds the tooltip is replaced with a cue card as shown in Figure 1 24 instead of an extended tooltip Cue cards show the step by step implementation of the tool Using the Ribbon 23 5 Click the Modify panel s title bar to expand the panel and expose all of the Modify tools Ha 6 Often you may find yourself returning to the same tool on an expanded Ribbon panel When that happens you can pin the panel open by click ing the pushpin shaped button in the bottom left corner When the panel is pinned open it remains open even when the cursor is not hov ering over it see Figure 1 25 7 Click the button again to unpin the panel and then move the cursor off the panel to collapse it Regardless of whether a panel is pinned or unpinned it will automatically collapse if you change Ribbon tabs Annotate FParmeinc View Manage Output Express Tools JOA ee a Copies objects a epecihed distance in a spectied direction With the COPYMDOE system variable you can control whether mullple copes are crealed automatically 7 eh BOAS ee Melak FACEN FIGURE 1 25 The Modify panel pinned to stay open Customizing the Ribbon Nearly every portion of the Ribbon can be customized to your liking From modifying an existing Ribbon panel to bu
34. rosshair size 5 Click OK to apply any remaining changes and close the Options dialog box TI P_ If you choose a color other than black as the drawing area back ground color the color of the crosshair cursor remains the same as it was To change the crosshair color go to the Interface Element list box in the Drawing Window Colors dialog box and select Crosshairs Then select a color from the Color drop down list Working in the Command Window Just below the drawing area is the command window This window is separate from the drawing area and behaves like a Windows window that is you can drag it to a different place on the screen and resize it although you probably shouldn t do this at first If you currently have fewer than three lines of text in the window you should increase the window s vertical size To do so move the cursor to the horizontal boundary between the drawing area and the command window until it changes to an up and down arrow broken by two parallel horizontal lines Hold down the left mouse button drag the cursor up by approximately the same amount that one or two lines of text would take up and then release the mouse button see Figure 1 18 You should see more lines of text but you might have to try this a few times to display exactly four lines A horizontal line will separate the top two lines of text from the bottom line of text When you close the program AutoCAD will save the new sett
35. s the one you ll be using most often but you ll also use the right mouse button While drawing you ll use the right mouse button for the following three operations gt To display a menu containing options relevant to the particular step youre in at the moment gt To use in combination with the Shift or Ctrl key to display a menu containing special drawing aids called object snaps gt To display a menu of toolbars when the pointer is on any icon of a toolbar that is currently open The middle button with scroll wheel serves a dual function Pressing and holding the middle button will allow you to pan throughout your drawing until Are You Experienced 35 you release the middle button The second function of the middle scroll wheel is to zoom in out within your drawing When scrolling toward the screen you will zoom into your drawing Conversely when scrolling away from the screen you will zoom out from your drawing AutoCAD makes extensive use of toolbars and the right click menu feature This makes your mouse an important input tool The keyboard is necessary for inputting numeric data and text and it has hot keys and aliases that can speed up your work however the mouse is the primary tool for selecting options and controlling toolbars The next chapter will familiarize you with a few basic commands that will enable you to draw a small diagram If you want to take a break and close AutoCAD choose Application Menu gt Exi
36. sing the default settings for the location of the program files start the program by choosing Start gt Programs gt Autodesk gt AutoCAD 2011 gt AutoCAD 2011 or by choosing Start gt Programs gt Autodesk gt AutoCAD LT 2011 gt AutoCAD LT 2011 depending on your program This command path might vary depending on the Windows operating system and scheme you are using You can also find and double click the AutoCAD 2011 icon or the AutoCAD LT 2011 icon on your desktop Architecture or AutoCAD Civil 3D to learn the topics covered in this book To use one of these vertical products choose Start gt Programs gt Autodesk gt AutoCAD Product Name 2011 gt AutoCAD Product Name as AutoCAD 2011 NOTE You can also use AutoCAD based products such as AutoCAD The Welcome Screen The Welcome Screen shown in Figure 1 1 opens when you first start AutoCAD and leads to several video tutorials and demonstrations Within it you ll find links to a number of videos introducing you to AutoCAD These videos go beyond what s found in the New Features Workshop by providing a more comprehen sive look at the entire feature not just what may have changed from previous releases The dialog itself features videos for the most popular topics and con tains links to many more resources including additional tutorial videos The following links are found in the lower left corner of the Welcome Screen gt New Features Workshop Links to the already m
37. t AutoCAD lower right corner and choose not to save the drawing Are You Experienced Now you can Vi recognize the elements of the AutoCAD Application window understand how the command window works and why it s important start commands from the Ribbon start commands from the command line use the Application menu display the drop down menus open and control the positioning of toolbars SB A A ARANAK save a workspace of your screen setup in AutoCAD
38. ult Polar Tracking Frequently used in conjunction with Object Snap Tracking Polar Tracking is an advanced drawing tool that guides cursor movement to specified increments along a polar angle Its use will be introduced in Chapter 5 Developing Drawing Strategies Part 2 Object Snap Aids you in drawing objects based with geometric reference points such as endpoint midpoint intersection and so on Mastering the use of object snaps 1s critical in the creation of accurate drawings 3D Object Snap Similar to the standard object snaps with more sophisticated tools for working and interacting with 3D faces and edges Object Snap Tracking An advanced drafting method introduced in Chapter 5 this allows you to draw objects with specific geometric relationships to other objects within your drawing Introducing the AutoCAD Application Window 13 Dynamic UCS UCS stands for User Coordinate System and Dynamic UCS is used in 3D drawings Dynamic Input When enabled displays much of the command interface near the cursor in addition to the command line itself Ee E Show Hide Lineweight Toggles the display of lineweights discussed in Chapter 14 Using Layouts to Set Up a Print in the drawing area Show Hide Transparency Many objects including layers can be assigned a transparency value When this toggle is on these objects transparency settings will take effect Quick Properties Based on the type of object objects
39. wing area is the UCS icon UCS stands for user coordinate system It indicates the positive direction for the x and y axes Below the drawing area is the command window shown in Figure 1 12 UNDERSTAND WHERE AUTOCAD Is SEARCHING qo It s reasonable to assume a search query would return the same results The number of regardless of where in the software the search was performed However InfoCenter icons may that is not the case A search using the InfoCenter will generally yield more vary based on the results than a search of the AutoCAD help file The InfoCenter is able to way AutoCAD was installed especially in the case of net By default the InfoCenter will search the help file as well as some predeter work deployments mined web locations You can view and customize the full list of where the InfoCenter searches by clicking the down arrow next to the binocular icon and selecting Search Settings search numerous locations simultaneously FIGURE 1 12 The command window Most commands can be launched in a few different ways the command line Ribbon tools and so on Regardless of which method you choose the command window is where you will tell the program what to do and where the program tells you what s happening It s an important feature and you ll need to learn how it works in detail By default three lines of text are visible You ll learn how to adjust the number of visible lines later in this chapter during the
40. wn arrow on the right end of the Quick Access toolbar and choosing Hide Menu Bar or by entering MENUBAR 0 1 Using the Toolbars The AutoCAD toolbars have essentially been replaced by the Ribbon or other features so we ll only touch on them briefly here Toolbars like the Ribbon pan els are collections of tools grouped by similar tasks Like the Ribbon itself any toolbar can be displayed or hidden without affecting the others and they can all be docked to a side or the top of the drawing area or float freely To display a toolbar first display the menu bar then choose Tools gt Toolbars click a toolbar category and click the toolbar that you want to open see Figure 1 37 Take a few minutes to explore the available toolbars and then close them and hide the display of the menu bar You ll touch on a few of the toolbars throughout the course of this book but most of the tools used will be accessed from the Ribbon Using the Toolbars AutoCAD S01 Dimai deny Parametri Winco Hep press Workspace Palettes Tokar Commend Line Clean Screen Y Spelling Quick Select Ors Onder sais Draw Order Dre Order Annotation te Front Find Tst E Block Beitar Germene Constreint Reef and Block i place Editing F Inquiry ee Date Beracteor Insert Date Links Leyers Inquiry gt Update Fields 5 l T fctian Recorder srm S Load Application FIGURE 1 37 Selecting a toolbar to display Laymuils Workspaces You haven
41. y Clicking it a third time collapses the Ribbon so only the tabs show When the Ribbon is in either of these states you can expand any panel or tab by clicking its visible panel or tab name Clicking the Minimize button a fourth time returns the Ribbon to its default state Rather than cycling through each display option you can use the small Down icon to the right of the Minimize Ribbon button to quickly switch between states A list of available display states Figure 1 20 will appear after clicking the Down icon Select the desired visibility to switch directly to it as opposed to cycling through the other options Th A Minimize to Tabs Minimize to Panel Titles pr r ba Multiline Text TEIN Minimize to Panel Buttons Anne Properties Cycle through All FIGURE 1 20 List of available Ribbon display states The Ribbon s default location is at the top of the screen but it can be undocked or floating over the drawing area or it can be moved to a second monitor or docked on either side of the drawing area To undock the Ribbon right click to the right of the tab names and choose Undock from the pop up menu as shown in Figure 1 21 The Ribbon detaches from the top of the drawing area and floats on the screen as shown in Figure 1 22 To dock it click the title bar on the side of the floating Ribbon and drag it to the side or the top of the drawing area Experiment with detaching the Ribbon but when you are finished doc
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