AutoCAD® 2010 For Dummies®

Chapter 3. A Lap around the CAD Track

In This Chapter

• Setting up a simple drawing

• Drawing some objects

• Zooming and panning in your drawing

• Editing some objects

• Plotting your drawing

The previous two chapters introduce you to the AutoCAD world and the AutoCAD 2010 interface. The chapters that follow present the techniques that underlie good drafting practice. By now, you're probably eager to start moving the crosshairs around and draw something! This chapter takes you on a gentle tour of the most common CAD drafting functions:

• Setting up a new drawing

• Drawing some objects

• Editing those objects

• Zooming and panning so that you can view those objects better

• Plotting (printing) the drawing

Much of the stuff in this chapter may be mysterious to you. Don't worry — I tell you where to look for more information on specific topics. In this chapter, you're simply taking AutoCAD for a test drive to get a feel for what it can do. Go ahead and kick the tires — and don't worry about putting a dent in the fender!

In this chapter, you create a drawing of an architectural detail — a base plate and column, as shown in Figure 3-1. Even if you don't work in architecture or building construction, this exercise gives you some simple shapes to work with and demonstrates commands you can use in most drafting disciplines.

Throughout this book, I show AutoCAD running in the Ribbon-based 2D Drafting & Annotation workspace introduced in AutoCAD 2009 and present in both AutoCAD 2010 and AutoCAD LT 2010. Likewise, I tell you ...