Wiley AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD LT 2012 Essentials
Contents
1. Quick Access toolbar The ribbon replaces all the classic menus and toolbars see Figure 1 9 Close the tool palettes and the Online float ing toolbar Tabbed interface Minimize ribbon aii e E oroa in 4 a GH aye F ECSCAZABTA A PRLS Box Estude Aeros Loft Savesp Preescull Uno Subtract Onbersack lire Potpgon Mowe offre Copy Ers Jomo culna Hofer oregano work ff Pom Levers Leas F ro F war F ModFy Selection Loonies Typical panel FIGURE 1 9 The full ribbon interface 2 Click the Minimize Ribbon button and observe the full ribbon change to display tabs and panel buttons see Figure 1 10 Hover the cursor Certification Objective Create w recommend using the full ribbon inter face until you learn where all the tools are Using one of the minimized modes saves space on screen AutoCAD is based on commands If you know the name of a command you can type it instead of finding it in the GUI Chapter 1 Getting Started over the panel buttons The buttons expand to reveal all the tools shown on the full ribbon W257 02 050 de mage L t of wire Express Tools Et t 4 Panel buttons ie e S re ModFy Selection Coorcinabes Layers amp WW25 2 02 0500 dwg Panel titles W752 07 0500 dwg Tabs EE HH tery mert danace tpt dd rs inline Esaress Tools E FIGURE 1 10 Ribbon modes Click the Minimize Ribbon button again The panel buttons change into titles A2. and inches but the inches are represented in decimal form for example 126 500 Fractional Woodworkers often prefer to set AutoCAD drawings in fractional units of inches because that is how their work is normally reckoned For example 12 feet 6 inches reads 150 4 in fractional units Scientific For example 12 million parsecs reads 12 000E 06 in scientific units where 12 000 indicates 12 accurate to a precision of three decimal places and E 06 indicates the exponential function to the sixth power or one million Let s set AutoCAD s drawing units 1 Click the New button on the Quick Access toolbar Click the arrow button next to the Open button in the Select Template dialog box and choose Open With No Template Imperial see Figure 1 16 Certification Objective Z Select template Laak ri E Temple ix n EF CAM ET ee F Took Preview our acad Haned Fiat Styles 3D chat Lesk jail cad Named Pict Styles chat BG k t cine clit k san acadisoS0dit LES k a Blot Styles 2 leak iaado Memed Plot Sykes cit 4k iacao dot Etk t Initial Setup Grchisecbural Imo 70k sA Initial Sebup Archibectral fet Tik j Initial SetupeCrei imperial chet E unl Initial Sebup Creil Mebric chat FIGURE 1 16 Opening a drawing with no template 12 You can press Enter or the spacebar to enter commands command names never have spaces Commands and their options can be typed in upper or l
3. in the drawing window 8 Click the Open button in the Quick Access toolbar Select any drawing in the Manufacturing folder and click Open If you are using LT open any other sample file 9 Click the Quick View Drawings button in the application status bar see Figure 1 6 Move the cursor over the first drawing and observe that two smaller views appear above it these are the highlighted drawing s spaces Move the cursor over Model and its view enlarges Click the model view icon to go there immediately Use Quick View to navigate through open drawings and their spaces Highlighted drawing s spaces Open drawings Close QuickView Open QuickView FIGURE 1 6 Accessing open drawings and their spaces with Quick View AUTOCAD DRAWING SPACES AutoCAD has two types of drawing spaces paper and model Paperspace is a two dimensional area analogous to and having the dimensions of a sheet of paper Various sizes of paper can be created in individual layouts see Chapter 13 Working with Layouts and Annotative Objects Modelspace on the other hand is a single three dimensional volume where everything is drawn actual size Modelspace is typically scaled down in viewports and displayed in paperspace Most of the drawing you will do in AutoCAD will be in modelspace Both paper and modelspaces are saved in the same drawing file Exploring AutoCAD s Workspaces AutoCAD workspaces not to be confused with drawi
4. sre varite vehed ae tia 30 soled ic walid You can mmove redundanl eige or edges inducing IER rise and unused edges his 30 solid oajects has ccllable propertios miumese and mass ihal 20 aalide ara Miled arly when tha FILLE system vera i on 11 art iha wewing drerlion is orihogonsl to ihe 20 said List of Prompts Tae falevirg paneta ara displayed free Autodesk Cl Show the delg st start uo FIGURE 1 15 AutoCAD Exchange Click the Help button on the right edge of the InfoCenter The Help Table of Contents page opens in your browser All AutoCAD documen tation is accessible through this interface Setting Drawing Units 11 Setting Drawing Units Before you start drawing it s important to decide what one drawing unit rep resents in the real world Architects in the United States typically equate one drawing unit with one inch in AutoCAD You need to choose a unit type that matches your country s industry standard Architectural As the name suggests most architects will choose this type which displays units in feet and inches For example 12 feet 6 2 inches is typed as 12 6 1 2 The hyphen is used to separate inches from fractions of an inch rather than feet from inches Decimal Metric users should select this type One decimal unit can be equal to one millimeter one centimeter or any metric unit Engineering Like the architectural type engineering units feature feet
5. that are not specific to a particular drawing 10 Certification Objective The AutoCAD Exchange dialog box contains help the Autodesk store and access to the AutoCAD community Chapter 1 Getting Started 11 12 13 Take a look at the InfoCenter at the top right of the screen see Figure 1 14 this is where you connect to Autodesk and the larger community Click in the search field and type solid Search box Search button Exchange Autodesk online Help services FIGURE 1 14 InfoCenter Click the binoculars icon on the right of the search field and the AutoCAD Exchange dialog box appears Multiple online books are searched and relevant results appear in the left panel The description of the SOLID command appears in the right panel Figure 1 15 duet AD Pee hevnes Autodesk Exchange HOME STORE COMMUNITY Tor a ee sold i Modify Halsii Proverlies Everti Craabes salic flled Hangla and giacliletarals SOLE Modify dalch Properlies Sresles soid Summary Wad angles a73 editors s ael a 7O solids arc Far example Med onbe vien dee PILLAGE eeslem yarigkla i onti Danmani Rearea 107e SOL The olor grauy codes apph bu Bol Sls In addon 1i the gros codes daaceberl hers see Coraman Group Godes to erties or infor esion aboul aganir ane formating usad DPF Reference UNEA j Ta i Clean and Check Si Sold Pesan facas anges and verices mom a J5 anlk
6. that you want to keep consistent in every drawing you create Set up the drawing units according to the way you work and save a new template file dwt Then create a new drawing file dwg based on your template and verify that the units are as expected As you learn more about styles layers and settings later in this book you can add your preferences to this template file Be aware that templates do not affect preexisting drawings
7. CHAPTER 1 AutoCAD for Mac has a user interface that is customized to the Mac experi ence Although the Mac user interface is not covered in this book its commands and capabilities are similar to those in AutoCAD for Windows Getting Started As we begin this chapter on getting started with AutoCAD I m reminded of a quote by Lao Tzu A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step In much the same way learning AutoCAD is something anyone can do by taking it one step at a time And I promise AutoCAD is much easier than walking a thousand miles Congratulations if you are reading this You are now on your way By the end of this book you will have a solid understanding of AutoCAD gt Exploring the AutoCAD 2012 for Windows User interface gt Setting drawing units Exploring the AutoCAD 2012 for Windows User Interface Autodesk has released several versions of AutoCAD including AutoCAD 2012 AutoCAD LT 2012 and AutoCAD 2012 for the Mac The two Windows versions look nearly identical and function in almost the same way The main difference is that LT doesn t support automation and some of the advanced 3D functions The Mac version looks a bit dif ferent than its cousins but functions nearly identically to AutoCAD for Windows Although this book was written using AutoCAD 2012 running on Windows XP Professional you can use it to learn any of the current versions of AutoCAD Exploring AutoCAD s Gr
8. aphical User Interface Before you can use AutoCAD you ll need to thoroughly familiarize yourself with its graphical user interface GUI The AutoCAD 2012 for Windows user interface is shown in Figure 1 1 Certification Objective Chapter 1 Getting Started Application Quick Access Drawing AutoCAD specific menu toolbar title InfoCenter Windows controls e 75 P a E pue hehe re o e lE ala alaa A er pij he Ribbon i Pri 4 ge D He 3 x A d ena Fa FE in ee 0 jma ee ee e T R Diaen Ees Ree Ooo In canvas Emeen ep HHHH HHH viewport HA OS rer pry controls A A A A deep et pets Drawing specific Windows controls Hot ViewCube l HEHA TIN TON BN TN R T BONON N FAE IN m e Chee Soe O ON N T Y N R N N TON B Cursor i 7 mH A R O B D A E H EEE EE tile amai Es a a N E E N E O B O N E EA i i Hra CHE eee EEE EEE EEE EEE EEE EEE eee Drawing canvas 2 os n oo O E S TEN W E O E O S O E e a E Hitt ttrt titty eee oT Navigation bar a E N E E E E E E F e i ee ee z E 5 EREE 3 o H H HE poet Hi H Pte os ttt ttt HHH i UCS icon gt a Command line window Application handle Status bar FIGURE 1 1 AutoCAD 2012 user interface Let s now step through the basic user interface for AutoCAD 1 Click the Application menu Type polygon and observe that the text appears in the search box a
9. ette bar i wo H 5 LL E 13 Ea 1 H 15 E Sheet Set Manager Drive Poller Ash Lower Drive Roller Sub Assy Brush Roller Sub Assy Door Sub assy Roler Grve Asay Intermittent Aaler Sub assy of latasher Flashing Ball Sub Assy Drive Roler Brush Drive Roler Fix Bearing Block_Shde 1 E lz Bearing Sprt Flate Top Plate Base Plate 28 Details ard Fabrication Washer Too Cover Geta FIGURE 1 4 Opening a sample drawing reveals this palette Click the palette properties menu and select Anchor Left The Sheet Set Manager palette is docked along the left edge of the user interface see Figure 1 5 There are many options you can use to organize the user interface to match the way you work Manufacturing Sheet Set iy Manufacturing Sheet Set a E OF Drive Roler Asty Lower H DD Lo n EE sH o Drive Roller Sub Assy 2 8 06 Rober Drive Assy EJ Sde Bracket sE OF Intermittent Roler Sub Assy oF lH a T w iia o i a i Side H 03 Drive Poller Brush i i Hig 28 LO Drive Poler Ft i E Details Ed Detale gt El L1 Besring Block Slide 3 12 Besring prt Blake AE Bradet i el Sm 13 Top Flate 1o ia Compieterlate fx 15 Washar Top Cover Datail j Final Pattern FIGURE 1 5 Docking a palette Exploring the AutoCAD 2012 for Windows User Interface 7 Double click Detail B under 04 Brush Roller Sub Assy in the Manufacturing sheet set A new drawing appears
10. gain hover the cursor over the titles to reveal each panel s tools Click the Minimize Ribbon button once again Hovering the cursor over the tabs doesn t have any effect Click the Home tab to reveal the full panel temporarily It disappears after you move the cursor away Click the Minimize Ribbon button one last time The full ribbon interface is restored Click the Create button at the bottom of the Create panel to reveal additional tools Hover the mouse over one of the tools to display a tooltip that identifies the tool and describes its function Holding the cursor still a while longer reveals either a drawing or a video without audio that visually demonstrates what the tool does see Figure 1 11 Observe that the bottom of the tooltip shown in Figure 1 11 reveals the command name SURFSCULPT in this case The ribbon menus toolbars and palettes are all graphical alternatives to typing commands Press and release the Alt key Keytips appear on the ribbon see Figure 1 12 Pressing any of the letter combinations activates that part of the GUI Type IN and observe that the Insert tab is selected without moving the cursor Press the F2 key to open the AutoCAD Text window The bottom line Command is called the command line It is the active line where com mands appear regardless of whether they are typed or triggered from Exploring the AutoCAD 2012 for Windows User Interface the GUI The comp
11. lete history of commands scrolls upward as new commands are entered Close the AutoCAD Text window Three lines of this command history appear at the bottom of the user interface just above the application status bar Ew Extrude Powder Jt Sarp Preseoull Union Sabbecot Iberi Lie Cokcon Inve anion surfaces Hha bounds rar bocreeba a rmat arbga ech Tam SURES CULT commend automat cele comb ara bora a confer on of nifaas thet arr hPa a aart arma bo rrasa a oc ood ee SURFSOULET Press F oa rare help FIGURE 1 11 Tooltip and video TW 2522 02 0500 dwg 13 a T a aes JE Long Pa xo one R f Smee Fresu Unon Subtract Intersect Lins Porygon Aoee Offset Copy Cras Create Edt Cea Body FIGURE 1 12 Keytips allow you to press keys to manipulate the ribbon with the keyboard 10 The application status bar contains a coordinate readout on the left a number of status toggle buttons and various items as shown in Figure 1 13 Click the application status bar menu and deselect Clean Screen its button disappears You can control which buttons appear using this menu Clean screen Coordinate readout Status toggles Quick View controls Specialized tools Tray Paper Model Drawing status bar Application status bar menu FIGURE 1 13 Application drawing status bars and the tray The drawing status bar contains items that are saved in the current drawing whereas the appli cation status bar contains items
12. ng spaces are stored sets of user interface controls which include menus toolbars palettes and the ribbon 5 Certification Objective The Quick Access toolbar is a conve nient way to open drawings especially when you re not using the Sheet Set Manager 6 Chapter 1 Getting Started People use workspaces to quickly configure the interface for the task at hand Let s take a brief look at AutoCAD s workspaces a A 1 Select the AutoCAD Classic workspace from the drop down menu on the Quick Access toolbar The user interface changes dramatically Although longtime see Figure 1 7 The AutoCAD Classic workspace makes AutoCAD users might feel more comfortable look similar to how it did in 2008 and before with the AutoCAD Classic interface l Mee E i ine EROE ae there are many Classic nme a N NA AE Eo pie Suhr A T menu bar advantages to using all the workspaces Floating toolbars by i T Docked E toolbars Z E 3 2 z S D Crit ne elt Coser Specify eppoeita coccac or Fenca dPslpeon ore Lyan FIGURE 1 7 AutoCAD Classic workspace v am 2 Drag a docked toolbar out from the edge of the screen and convert it into a floating toolbar Select Tools gt Toolbars gt AutoCAD gt Dimension from the classic menu bar Drag the Dimension floating toolbar to any edge of the screen and dock it e 3 Position the cursor over a docked toolbar button and right click a toolbar co
13. ntext menu appears Select Object Snap from this menu Figure 1 8 4 Right click in the drawing window and you ll see a different con text menu Right clicking over most items from the tool palettes to the status bar buttons brings up other unique context menus In the Classic workspace right clicking is the means of accessing numerous context sensitive menus throughout the user interface Exploring the AutoCAD 2012 for Windows User Interface 7 30 Navigation Array Toolbar CAD Standards Camara Adjustment Dimension Dimensional Constraints Draws s Dram Order Crew Order 4ninotstion bo Frot Find Text Geomebic Corsan Group Inquiry Irast s Layers Layers Jl Laivouts Lights Mapping 4 Measurement Took Modeling x Modty Mody 12 Mukisader Objed Snap Orbit Cr Paramatic FIGURE 1 8 Using the context menu to open toolbars The AutoCAD Ribbon AutoCAD has so many toolbars palettes and menus that finding the right tool A for the job can seem like a job in itself The ribbon was therefore an important feature that was introduced to AutoCAD Autodesk adopted Microsoft s ribbon The ribbon isn t shown in the standard to organize the ever increasing number of toolbars in a single special AutoCAD Classic palette making tools much easier to find Let s now explore various ribbon workspace modes and identify the user interface elements of each 1 Choose the 3D Basics workspace from the drop down menu in the ai
14. owercase Chapter 1 Getting Started 2 Type UN and press Enter to bring up the Drawing Units dialog box see Figure 1 17 UN is the command alias abbreviation of the UNITS command Most commands have aliases that save on typing Length rge D Tips fuchientadl me Deane Degass rop e no ne Dockeien Ire ior paa Unity to scale eed conden beh Semple Ouipu 12 2S 000 Lighting L on cect iin Hale FIGURE 1 17 Setting drawing units 3 Select Architectural from the Type drop down menu I m using Architectural in this book but you should select the unit type that fits your industry when working professionally Metric users should select Decimal length units 4 Click the Length Precision drop down menu and select 1 8 or 0 for metric Set Insertion Scale to Inches and Angle Type to Decimal Degrees Set Angular Precision to 0 00 two decimal places 5 Click the Insertion Scale drop down menu and select Inches or Centimeters for metric Click OK to close the Drawing Units dialog box THE ESSENTIALS AND BEYOND You have thoroughly explored the user interface and learned how to control the look and feel of AutoCAD to suit task based workflows In addition you ve learned how to create a new drawing and set the drawing units and you re ready to get to the business of drawing ADDITIONAL EXERCISES gt Drawing templates are drawing files that store styles layers and settings
15. t the top of the Application menu The search results see Figure 1 2 list many related commands Search is useful when you re not sure how to access a command in the inter face or what its exact name is Ralated Praks v treth Rhben Tabo Ais otitis gt Stench By oy Ec Poirie Eai Zaks hame 2 Mitte 2 EA Cipi Da E Wesparks Pygora Yemak TAN oae a E Mewperts Pahyganal Yinuport Geant ass RNE 9 Edit Pobrline LTT cae RY ba E Polygon Canned ice ACL Se ray Sedat Crge Pok pon E Trah Command ieaged SRE Bey TABLET 242747 pagen Comes ica Pek gon FIGURE 1 2 Searching for commands in the Application menu Exploring the AutoCAD 2012 for Windows User Interface 2 Click the red X at the extreme right edge of the search box to make the initial Application menu interface reappear here you can create new or open existing drawings export or print drawings and more Hover the cursor over Open and then click Drawing Figure 1 3 a fe Deatting amp Annotation 7 nb Dramm eg Open an cessting drawing file K Content Baplorer Browse and search Far Ales to be ope rend cs Sheet Set Ey Open a chest sot deta file Inthe Sheet Set Ranager ph DEN pa Drport bho data Frere a DAM Kie into a naw Dara Fic Options Feit AukoC4D ranman Fata 1 FIGURE 1 3 Opening a drawing from the Application menu Select the following sample file and click Open in the Select File dialog box C Program Files Autodesk Au
16. toCAD 2012 Sample Sheet Sets Manufacturing VW252 02 0142 dwg If you are using AutoCAD LT open any of the sample files located under C Program Files Autodesk AutoCAD LT 2012 Sample The Sheet Set Manager palette appears when the sample file is opened see Figure 1 4 This palette automatically appears when you open any drawing that s a part of a sheet set AutoCAD has many palettes to organize tools and reusable drawing content Click the Sheet Views tab along the right edge of the Sheet Set Manager and observe that tabs provide a means of accessing addi tional interface content In its present state the Sheet Set Manager is a floating palette Drag its palette bar and relocate it on screen Click the Auto hide toggle and watch the palette collapse to its vertical palette bar this saves space on screen Hover the cursor over the palette bar and watch the whole palette reappear so you can access its content Now toggle Auto hide off Certification Objective Sheet sets are not available in AutoCAD LT and are an optional feature in AutoCAD Drag floating palettes to a secondary moni tor to maximize the drawing area on your primary monitor i Auto hide toggle t Manufacturing Sest sat Palette properties menu Chapter 1 Getting Started G S 2 _ _____ Tabbed interface i Manaen Street Set Ot Cover Shek 5 Assemblies E H o Bo Bo i oF E TIY HE os Pal
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