Book description
In-depth coverage of all new software features of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT
AutoCAD is the leading drawing software, used by design and drafting professionals to create 2D and 3D technical drawings. This popular reference-tutorial has once again been revised by AutoCAD guru Ellen Finkelstein to provide you with the most up-to-date coverage of both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT.
You'll begin with a Quick Start tutorial so that even if you're brand new to AutoCAD, you can get started working with it right away. You'll then move on to the basics of creating drawings, using commands, and specifying coordinates. After developing a solid foundation on the essentials of AutoCAD, the book gradually builds upon early chapters as it covers more and more complex topics and techniques.
Presenting the popular AutoCAD reference-tutorial, once again revised by Ellen Finkelstein a long-time AutoCAD instructor and advocate
Starts with a tutorial on AutoCAD that covers the basics of creating drawings, using commands, and specifying coordinates
Builds on early chapters to cover more complex 2D and 3D drawing techniques, including using layers, creating dimensions, 3D coordinates, solids, and rendering
Discusses advanced topics such as customization of commands and toolbars, and programming AutoCAD using AutoLISP and VBA
The DVD contains before and after drawings for each tutorial, bonus appendices, the book in searchable PDF format, a 30-day trial version of AutoCAD, and more
Packed with essential information on both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, this resource is a must-have if you're eager to get started creating 2D and 3D technical drawings.
Table of contents
- Copyright
- About the Author
- Credits
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
-
I. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Basics
- QS. Drawing a Window
-
1. Starting to Draw
- 1.1. AutoCAD's Advantages
- 1.2. Comparing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT
- 1.3. Starting AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT
- 1.4. Creating a New Drawing
- 1.5. Using the AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Interface
- 1.6. Creating a New Folder
- 1.7. Using the Interface
- 1.8. Saving a Drawing
- 1.9. Closing a Drawing and Exiting from AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT
- 1.10. Summary
- 2. Opening a Drawing
-
3. Using Commands
- 3.1. The AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Interface
- 3.2. The Command Line and Dynamic Input
- 3.3. Command Techniques
- 3.4. Of Mice and Pucks
- 3.5. Getting Help
- 3.6. Summary
-
4. Specifying Coordinates
- 4.1. Understanding the X,Y Coordinate System
- 4.2. Displaying Coordinates
- 4.3. Picking Coordinates on the Screen
- 4.4. Overriding Coordinate Settings
- 4.5. Locating Points
- 4.6. Summary
- 5. Setting Up a Drawing
-
II. Drawing in Two Dimensions
- 6. Drawing Simple Lines
- 7. Drawing Curves and Points
- 8. Viewing Your Drawing
-
9. Editing Your Drawing with Basic Tools
- 9.1. Editing a Drawing
- 9.2. Selecting Objects
- 9.3. Summary
-
10. Editing Your Drawing with Advanced Tools
- 10.1. Copying and Moving Objects
- 10.2. Resizing commands
- 10.3. Using Construction Commands
- 10.4. Creating a Revision Cloud
- 10.5. Hiding Objects with a Wipeout
- 10.6. Constraining Objects with Parameters
- 10.7. Double-Clicking to Edit Objects
- 10.8. Grips
- 10.9. Editing with the Quick Properties Palette and the Properties Palette
- 10.10. Selection Filters
- 10.11. Groups
- 10.12. Summary
-
11. Organizing Drawings with Layers and Object Properties
- 11.1. Working with Layers
-
11.2. Changing Object Color, Linetype, Lineweight, and Transparency
- 11.2.1. Changing an object's color
- 11.2.2. Changing the current color
- 11.2.3. Changing an object's linetype
- 11.2.4. Changing the current linetype
- 11.2.5. Changing an object's lineweight
- 11.2.6. Changing the current lineweight
- 11.2.7. Changing an object's transparency
- 11.2.8. Changing the current transparency
- 11.3. Working with Linetype Scales
- 11.4. Importing Layers and Linetypes from Other Drawings
- 11.5. Matching Properties
- 11.6. Summary
- 12. Obtaining Information from Your Drawing
-
13. Creating Text
- 13.1. Creating Single-Line Text
- 13.2. Understanding Text Styles
- 13.3. Creating Multiline Text
- 13.4. Creating Tables
- 13.5. Inserting Fields
- 13.6. Managing Text
- 13.7. Finding Text in Your Drawing
- 13.8. Checking Your Spelling
- 13.9. Summary
-
14. Drawing Dimensions
- 14.1. Working with Dimensions
- 14.2. Drawing Linear Dimensions
- 14.3. Drawing Aligned Dimensions
- 14.4. Creating Baseline and Continued Dimensions
- 14.5. Dimensioning Arcs and Circles
- 14.6. Dimensioning Angles
- 14.7. Creating Ordinate Dimensions
- 14.8. Drawing Leaders
- 14.9. Using Quick Dimension
- 14.10. Creating Inspection Dimensions
- 14.11. Creating Geometric Tolerances
-
14.12. Editing Dimensions
- 14.12.1. Editing associativity
- 14.12.2. Using the DIMEDIT command
- 14.12.3. Using the DIMTEDIT command
- 14.12.4. Flipping dimension arrows
- 14.12.5. Editing dimension text
- 14.12.6. Using the Properties palette to edit dimensions
- 14.12.7. Changing annotative scales
- 14.12.8. Spacing dimensions equally apart
- 14.12.9. Breaking dimensions
- 14.12.10. Using Quick Dimension to edit dimensions
- 14.12.11. Using grips to edit dimensions
- 14.12.12. Editing objects and dimensions together
- 14.13. Summary
-
15. Creating Dimension Styles
- 15.1. Understanding Dimension Styles
- 15.2. Defining a New Dimension Style
-
15.3. Changing Dimension Styles
- 15.3.1. Choosing a new current dimension style
- 15.3.2. Creating a variant of a dimension style
- 15.3.3. Modifying a dimension to use a new dimension style
- 15.3.4. Modifying dimension styles
- 15.3.5. Overriding a dimension style
- 15.3.6. Updating dimensions
- 15.3.7. Comparing dimension styles
- 15.3.8. Copying dimension styles from other drawings
- 15.4. Summary
-
16. Drawing Complex Objects
- 16.1. Creating and Editing Polylines
- 16.2. Drawing and Editing Splines
- 16.3. Creating Regions
- 16.4. Creating Boundaries
- 16.5. Creating Hatches
- 16.6. Creating and Editing Multilines
- 16.7. Creating Dlines in AutoCAD LT
- 16.8. Using the SKETCH Command
- 16.9. Digitizing Drawings with the TABLET Command
- 16.10. Summary
-
17. Plotting and Printing Your Drawing
- 17.1. Preparing a Drawing for Plotting or Printing
-
17.2. Creating a Layout in Paper Space
- 17.2.1. Entering paper space
- 17.2.2. Using the Layout Wizard
-
17.2.3. Laying out a drawing in paper space on your own
- 17.2.3.1. Managing layouts
- 17.2.3.2. Using the Page Setup Manager
- 17.2.3.3. Preparing layers
- 17.2.3.4. Inserting a titleblock
- 17.2.3.5. Creating floating viewports
- 17.2.3.6. Returning to model space while on a layout
- 17.2.3.7. Setting viewport scale
- 17.2.3.8. Locking the viewport
- 17.2.3.9. Setting viewport size, placement, and display
- 17.2.3.10. Controlling scale for noncontinuous linetypes
- 17.2.3.11. Setting layer visibility and properties within a viewport
- 17.2.3.12. Setting hidden and shaded views for viewports
- 17.2.4. Annotating a layout
- 17.2.5. Saving a layout template
- 17.3. Working with Plot Styles
- 17.4. Plotting a Drawing
- 17.5. Summary
-
III. Working with Data
-
18. Working with Blocks and Attributes
- 18.1. Combining Objects into Blocks
- 18.2. Inserting Blocks and Files into Drawings
- 18.3. Managing Blocks
- 18.4. Creating and Using Dynamic Blocks
- 18.5. Using Windows Features to Copy Data
- 18.6. Working with Attributes
- 18.7. Summary
-
19. Referencing Other Drawings
- 19.1. Understanding External References
- 19.2. Editing an Xref within Your Drawing
- 19.3. Controlling Xref Display
- 19.4. Managing Xrefs
- 19.5. Working with DWF, DGN, and PDF Underlays
- 19.6. Summary
- 20. Working with External Databases
-
18. Working with Blocks and Attributes
-
IV. Drawing in Three Dimensions
-
21. Specifying 3D Coordinates
- 21.1. Working in a 3D Environment
-
21.2. Using 3D Coordinates
- 21.2.1. Absolute and relative Cartesian coordinates in 3D
- 21.2.2. Cylindrical and spherical coordinates
- 21.2.3. Using editing commands with 3D wireframes
- 21.2.4. Using point filters, object snaps, object tracking, and grips in 3D
- 21.2.5. Creating 3D polylines
- 21.2.6. Creating helixes
- 21.2.7. Using point clouds
- 21.3. Using Elevation and Thickness
- 21.4. Working with the User Coordinate System
- 21.5. Summary
-
22. Viewing 3D Drawings
- 22.1. Working with the Standard Viewpoints
- 22.2. Using the ViewCube to View Your Drawing
- 22.3. Creating a Named View with a Camera
- 22.4. Displaying Parallel and Perspective Projections
- 22.5. Using 3D Orbit
- 22.6. Using ShowMotion to Cycle Through Views
- 22.7. Walking through a Model
- 22.8. Navigating with the Wheel
- 22.9. Using DVIEW to Create a Perspective View
- 22.10. Working with Visual Styles
- 22.11. Laying Out 3D Drawings
- 22.12. Printing in 3D
- 22.13. Summary
-
23. Creating 3D Surfaces
- 23.1. Drawing Surfaces with 3DFACE
- 23.2. Drawing Surfaces with PFACE
- 23.3. Creating Polygon Meshes with 3DMESH
- 23.4. Drawing Procedural and NURBS Surfaces
- 23.5. Creating Plane Surfaces
- 23.6. Drawing an Extruded Surface
- 23.7. Drawing Surfaces Between Objects
- 23.8. Editing and Analyzing Surfaces
- 23.9. Working with Multiple Types of Objects
- 23.10. Summary
-
24. Creating Solids and Editing in 3D
- 24.1. Drawing Basic Smooth Solids
- 24.2. Creating Extruded Solids
- 24.3. Drawing Swept Solids
- 24.4. Drawing Revolved Solids
- 24.5. Drawing Lofted Solids
- 24.6. Drawing Polyline-Like Solids
- 24.7. Manipulating Solids
- 24.8. Working with Mesh Shapes
- 24.9. Creating Complex Solids
- 24.10. Sectioning and Slicing Solids
- 24.11. Using Editing Commands in 3D
- 24.12. Using the SOLIDEDIT Command
- 24.13. Listing Solid Properties
- 24.14. Summary
-
25. Rendering in 3D
- 25.1. Understanding Rendering
- 25.2. Creating Lights
- 25.3. Working with Materials
- 25.4. Doing the Final Render
- 25.5. Summary
-
21. Specifying 3D Coordinates
-
V. Organizing and Managing Drawings
-
26. Keeping Control of Your Drawings
- 26.1. Accessing Drawing Components with the DesignCenter
- 26.2. Accessing Drawing Content with Tool Palettes
- 26.3. Setting Standards for Drawings
- 26.4. Working with Sheet Sets
- 26.5. Organizing Your Drawings
- 26.6. Maintaining Security
- 26.7. Keeping Track of Referenced Files
- 26.8. Handling Errors and Crashes
- 26.9. Managing Drawings from Prior Releases
- 26.10. Summary
- 27. Working with Other Applications
-
28. Creating Electronic Output
- 28.1. Sending Drawings
- 28.2. Opening Drawings from the Web
- 28.3. Creating Object Hyperlinks
-
28.4. Publishing Drawings
- 28.4.1. Understanding DWF and DWFx files
-
28.4.2. Creating 2D DWF and DWFx files
- 28.4.2.1. Starting the PUBLISH command
- 28.4.2.2. Adding drawings to the drawing list
- 28.4.2.3. Removing model space or layout tabs from the drawing list
- 28.4.2.4. Editing the drawing list
- 28.4.2.5. Defining the output
- 28.4.2.6. Setting publish options
- 28.4.2.7. Publishing
- 28.4.2.8. Creating DWF files from other applications
- 28.4.2.9. Auto-publishing
- 28.4.3. Creating 3D DWF and DWFx files
- 28.4.4. Using the Publish to Web Wizard
- 28.4.5. Posting DWF and DWFx files directly
- 28.4.6. Editing Web pages
- 28.4.7. Viewing DWF and DWFx drawings
- 28.5. Summary
-
26. Keeping Control of Your Drawings
-
VI. Customizing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT
- 29. Customizing Commands, Toolbars, and Tool Palettes
- 30. Creating Macros and Slide Shows
- 31. Creating Your Own Linetypes and Hatch Patterns
- 32. Creating Shapes and Fonts
-
33. Customizing the Ribbon and Menus
- 33.1. Working with the Customization File
-
33.2. Customizing the Interface
- 33.2.1. Looking at a ribbon panel
- 33.2.2. Writing macros
- 33.2.3. Customizing the ribbon
- 33.2.4. Customizing the Menu bar and shortcuts menus
- 33.2.5. Customizing mouse buttons and tablet buttons
- 33.2.6. Customizing image-tile menus
- 33.2.7. Customizing tablet menus
- 33.2.8. Working with the Screen menu
- 33.2.9. Creating keyboard shortcuts
- 33.2.10. Customizing the double-click behavior
- 33.2.11. Customizing the Quick Properties palette and rollover tooltips
- 33.3. Summary
-
VII. Programming AutoCAD
-
34. Understanding AutoLISP and Visual LISP Basics
- 34.1. Introducing Visual LISP
- 34.2. Getting Help in Visual LISP
- 34.3. Working with AutoLISP Expressions
- 34.4. Using AutoLISP on the Command Line
- 34.5. Creating AutoLISP Files
- 34.6. Summary
- 35. Exploring AutoLISP Further
- 36. Exploring Advanced AutoLISP Topics
- 37. Programming with .NET
-
34. Understanding AutoLISP and Visual LISP Basics
-
VIII. Appendixes
- A. Installing and Configuring AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT
- B. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Resources
-
C. What's on the DVD
- C.1. System Requirements
- C.2. Using the DVD with Microsoft Windows
- C.3. What's on the DVD
- C.4. Troubleshooting
- C.5. Customer Care
- Wiley Publishing, Inc.End-User License Agreement
Product information
- Title: AutoCAD® 2011 & AutoCAD LT® 2011 Bible
- Author(s):
- Release date: June 2010
- Publisher(s): Wiley
- ISBN: 9780470608234
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