AutoCAD® 2009 For Dummies®

Chapter 21. Ten Differences Between AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT

This book is aimed at users of both the full version of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. Throughout the text, you can find icons in the margin that highlight places in my descriptions or steps that are significantly different between the two versions.

Rather than make you go through the entire text (not that it wouldn't be a highly rewarding task!) looking for tidbits of information, in this chapter, I gather the ten most significant differences between the two versions.

Price

Most important to many people — especially if you exclusively work in 2D drafting and don't see a need to spend a lot of time learning AutoCAD's customization languages — is the much lower cost of AutoCAD LT. You can buy either version online (visit www.autodesk.com and click Purchase, then Shop online) and in the first month of 2008, AutoCAD listed at $3,999 and AutoCAD LT at $899.

3D Abilities

This may be the most significant difference for some users. If you want to model in 3D, you have no choice but to use the full version. In AutoCAD LT you can open and view 3D models created in the full version of AutoCAD, but you can't edit them or create new ones. The only 3D construction you can do in AutoCAD LT is to apply a thickness property to linework. (In AutoCAD, thickness means perpendicular to the drawing plane; don't confuse it with width which applies to objects on the drawing plane.)

And even if you can open 3D models from the full version in AutoCAD LT, it's ...