AutoCAD® 2008 and AutoCAD LT® 2008 Bible

Chapter 22. Viewing 3D Drawings

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Using the standard viewpoints

• Using the DDVPOINT and VPOINT commands

• Displaying a plan view with the PLAN command

• Creating a named view with a camera

• Working with visual styles

• Using 3D Orbit

• Walking through a model

• Laying out a 3D drawing

As soon as you start to work in three dimensions, you need to be able to see the drawing from different angles. By combining various User Coordinate Systems (UCSs) and different viewpoints, you can view and draw any object in 3D. Unless otherwise stated, the features in this chapter apply to both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT.

Your basic point of reference is plan view in the World Coordinate System (WCS). This is the view that you use in 2D, and so it's familiar. Plan view is the view from the top. For a building, the top is obvious. However, for a bushing, which view is the top? Figure 22.1 shows a 2D drawing of a bushing. Figure 22.2 shows the 3D version. The left view of Figure 22.1 is the plan view looking down from the top. (Although your drawing calls this the plan view, engineering practice might call this the front view.)

When working in 3D, you can use many of the familiar 2D techniques for viewing your drawing:

• Use ZOOM Previous to display the previous viewpoint.

• Save views so that you can easily return to them.

• Use real-time zoom and pan as well as all of the other zoom options.

• Create tiled viewports to display more than one view at a time.

Note

You can save drawings in the 3D DWF format (in AutoCAD only) for ...