AutoCAD 2014 and AutoCAD LT 2014 Essentials: Autodesk Official Press

AutoCAD 2014 and AutoCAD LT 2014 Essentials: Autodesk Official Press

Released June 2013
Publisher(s): Sybex
ISBN: 9781118575093

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Book description

Learn crucial AutoCAD tools and techniques with this Autodesk Official Press Book

Quickly become productive using AutoCAD 2014 and AutoCAD LT 2014 with this full color Autodesk Official Press guide. This unique learning resource features concise, straightforward explanations and real-world, hands-on exercises and tutorials. Following a quick discussion of concepts and goals, each chapter moves on to an approachable hands-on exercise designed to reinforce real-world tactics and techniques. Compelling, full-color screenshots illustrate tutorial steps, and chapters conclude with related and more open-ended projects to further reinforce the chapter's lessons.

Starting and ending files for the exercises are also available for download, so you can compare your results with those of professionals. You'll follow a workflow-based approach that mirrors the development of projects in the real world, learning 2D drawing skills, editing entities, working with splines and polylines, using layers and objects, creating and editing text, dimensioning, modeling in 3D, and much more.

  • Hands-on exercises and their downloadable tutorial files are based on the real-world task of drawing a house

  • Covers crucial features and techniques, including 2D drawing working with layers, organizing objects with groups and blocks, using hatch patterns and gradients, using constraints and layouts, importing data, 3D modeling, and

  • Includes content to help prepare you for Autodesk's AutoCAD certification program

AutoCAD 2014 and AutoCAD LT 2014 Essentials is the Autodesk Official Press guide that helps you quickly and confidently learn the newest version of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. About the Author
  4. Introduction
  5. Chapter 1: Getting Started
    1. Exploring the AutoCAD 2014 for Windows User Interface
    2. Setting Drawing Units
  6. Chapter 2: Basic Drawing Skills
    1. Navigating 2D Drawings
    2. Drawing Lines and Rectangles
    3. Canceling, Erasing, and Undoing
    4. Using Coordinate Systems
    5. Drawing Circles, Arcs, and Polygons
    6. Filleting and Chamfering Lines
  7. Chapter 3: Using Drawing Aids
    1. Grid and Snap
    2. Ortho and Polar Tracking
    3. PolarSnap
    4. Running Object Snaps
    5. From Snap
    6. Object Snap Tracking
  8. Chapter 4: Editing Entities
    1. Creating Selection Sets
    2. Move and Copy
    3. Rotate and Scale
    4. Working with Arrays
    5. Trim and Extend
    6. Lengthen and Stretch
    7. Offset and Mirror
    8. Grip Editing
  9. Chapter 5: Shaping Curves
    1. Drawing and Editing Curved Polylines
    2. Drawing Ellipses
    3. Drawing and Editing Splines
    4. Blending Between Objects with Splines
  10. Chapter 6: Controlling Object Visibility and Appearance
    1. Changing Object Properties
    2. Setting the Current Layer
    3. Altering the Layer Assignments of Objects
    4. Controlling Layer Visibility
    5. Applying Linetype
    6. Assigning Properties by Object or by Layer
    7. Managing Layer Properties
  11. Chapter 7: Organizing Objects
    1. Defining Blocks
    2. Inserting Blocks
    3. Editing Blocks
    4. Redefining Blocks
    5. Working with Groups
  12. Chapter 8: Hatching and Gradients
    1. Specifying Hatch Areas
    2. Associating Hatches with Boundaries
    3. Hatching with Patterns
    4. Hatching with Gradients
  13. Chapter 9: Working with Blocks and Xrefs
    1. Working with Global Blocks
    2. Accessing Content Globally
    3. Storing Content on Tool Palettes
    4. Referencing External Drawings and Images
  14. Chapter 10: Creating and Editing Text
    1. Creating Text Styles
    2. Writing Lines of Text
    3. Writing and Formatting Paragraphs of Text Using MTEXT
    4. Editing Text
  15. Chapter 11: Dimensioning
    1. Styling Dimensions
    2. Adding Dimensions
    3. Editing Dimensions
  16. Chapter 12: Keeping In Control with Constraints
    1. Working with Geometric Constraints
    2. Applying Dimensional Constraints and Creating User Parameters
    3. Constraining Objects Simultaneously with Geometry and Dimensions
    4. Making Parametric Changes to Constrained Objects
  17. Chapter 13: Working with Layouts and Annotative Objects
    1. Creating Annotative Styles and Objects
    2. Creating Layouts
    3. Adjusting Floating Viewports
    4. Overriding Layer Properties in Layout Viewports
    5. Drawing on Layouts
  18. Chapter 14: Printing and Plotting
    1. Configuring Output Devices
    2. Creating Plot Style Tables
    3. Using Plot Style Tables
    4. Plotting in Modelspace
    5. Plotting Layouts in Paperspace
    6. Exporting to an Electronic Format
  19. Chapter 15: Working with Data
    1. Geolocating Projects
    2. Importing SketchUp Models
    3. Defining Attributes and Blocks
    4. Inserting Attributed Blocks
    5. Editing Table Styles and Creating Tables
    6. Using Fields in Table Cells
    7. Editing Table Data
  20. Chapter 16: Navigating 3D Models
    1. Using Visual Styles
    2. Working with Tiled Viewports
    3. Navigating with the ViewCube
    4. Orbiting in 3D
    5. Using Cameras
    6. Navigating with SteeringWheels
    7. Saving Views
  21. Chapter 17: Modeling in 3D
    1. Creating Surface Models
    2. Editing Surface Models
    3. Creating Solid Models
    4. Editing Solid Models
    5. Smoothing Meshes
  22. Chapter 18: Presenting and Documenting 3D Design
    1. Assigning Materials
    2. Placing and Adjusting Lights
    3. Creating Renderings
    4. Documenting Models with Drawings
  23. Appendix: Autodesk AutoCAD 2014 Certification

Product information

  • Title: AutoCAD 2014 and AutoCAD LT 2014 Essentials: Autodesk Official Press
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: June 2013
  • Publisher(s): Sybex
  • ISBN: 9781118575093