Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Using the command line
Using aliases
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: Getting Started with AutoCAD 2014
Chapter 1: Introducing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT
Checking Out What AutoCAD Can Do for You
Opening AutoCAD
Drawing in AutoCAD
Understanding Pixels and Vectors
The Cartesian Coordinate System
The Importance of Being DWG
Chapter 2: The Grand Tour of AutoCAD 2014
Looking at AutoCAD’s Drawing Screen
InfoCenter and Quick Access toolbar
Making choices from the Application Menu
Unraveling the Ribbon
Getting with the Program
Looking for Mr. Status Bar
Using Dynamic Input
Let your fingers do the talking: The command line
The key(board) to AutoCAD success
Keeping tabs on palettes
Down the main stretch: The drawing area
Fun with F1
Chapter 3: A Lap around the CAD Track
A Simple Setup
Drawing a (Base) Plate
Taking a Closer Look with Zoom and Pan
Modifying to Make It Merrier
Crossing your hatches
Now that’s a stretch
Following the Plot
Plotting the drawing
Today’s layer forecast: Freezing
Chapter 4: Setup for Success
A Setup Roadmap
Choosing your units
Weighing up your scales
Thinking about paper
Defending your border
A Template for Success
Making the Most of Model Space
Setting your units
Making the drawing area snap-py (and grid-dy)
Setting linetype and dimension scales
Entering drawing properties
Making Templates Your Own
Chapter 5: A Zoom with a View
Zooming and Panning with Glass and Hand
The wheel deal
Navigating a drawing
Zooming, Zooming, Zooming
A View by Any Other Name . . .
Degenerating and Regenerating
Part II: Let There Be Lines
Chapter 6: Along the Straight and Narrow
Drawing for Success
Introducing the Straight-Line Drawing Commands
Drawing Lines and Polylines
Toeing the line
Connecting the lines with polyline
Squaring Off with Rectangles
Choosing Sides with POLygon
Chapter 7: Dangerous Curves Ahead
(Throwing) Curves
Going Full Circle
Arc-y-ology
Solar Ellipses
Splines: The Sketchy, Sinuous Curves
Donuts: The Circles with a Difference
Revision Clouds on the Horizon
Scoring Points
Chapter 8: Preciseliness Is Next to CADliness
Controlling Precision
Understanding the AutoCAD Coordinate Systems
Keyboard capers: Coordinate input
Introducing user coordinate systems
Drawing by numbers
Grabbing an Object and Making It Snappy
Grabbing points with object snap overrides
Running with object snaps
Other Practical Precision Procedures
Chapter 9: Manage Your Properties
Using Properties with Objects
Using the ByLayer approach
Changing properties
Working with Layers
Accumulating properties
Creating new layers
Manipulating layers
Scaling an object’s linetype
Using Named Objects
Using AutoCAD DesignCenter
Chapter 10: Grabbing Onto Object Selection
Commanding and Selecting
Command-first editing
Selection-first editing
Direct-object manipulation
Choosing an editing style
Selecting Objects
One-by-one selection
Selection boxes left and right
Perfecting Selecting
AutoCAD Groupies
Object Selection: Now You See It . . .
Chapter 11: Edit for Credit
Assembling Your AutoCAD Toolkit
The Big Three: Move, COpy, and Stretch
Base points and displacements
Move
COpy
Copy between drawings
Stretch
More Manipulations
Mirror, mirror on the monitor
ROtate
SCale
-ARray
Offset
Slicing, Dicing, and Splicing
TRim and EXtend
BReak
Fillet, CHAmfer, and BLEND
Join
Other editing commands
Getting a Grip
When Editing Goes Bad
Chapter 12: Planning for Paper
Setting Up a Layout in Paper Space
Will that be tabs or buttons?
Viewing layouts Quick(View)ly
Creating a Layout
Using the Create Layout Wizard
Creating a view(port) to draw in
Working with Layouts
Copying and changing layouts
Locking the viewport
Switching between layouts
Keeping track of where you’re at
About Paper Space Layouts and Plotting
Part III: If Drawings Could Talk
Chapter 13: Text with Character
Getting Ready to Write
Creating Simply Stylish Text
Font follies
Get in style
Taking Your Text to New Heights
Plotted text height
Calculating non-annotative AutoCAD text height
Entering Text
Using the Same Old Line
Saying More in Multiline Text
Making it with mText
mText dons a mask
Insert Field
Doing a number on your mText lists
Line up in columns — now!
Modifying mText
Turning On Annotative Objects
Gather ’Round the Tables
Tables have style, too
Creating and editing tables
Take Me to Your Leader
Electing a leader
Multi options for multileaders
Chapter 14: Entering New Dimensions
Adding Dimensions to a Drawing
A Field Guide to Dimensions
Using the quick dimension commands
Opening the Dimension toolbar
Where, oh where, do my dimensions go?
The Latest Styles in Dimensioning
Creating dimension styles
Adjusting style settings
Changing styles
Scaling Dimensions for Output
Editing Dimensions
Editing dimension geometry
Editing dimension text
Controlling and editing dimension associativity
Chapter 15: Down the Hatch!
Creating a Hatch
Using the Hatches Tab
Scaling Hatches
Scaling the easy way
Annotative versus non-annotative
Pushing the Boundary (of) Hatch
Adding style
Hatching from scratch
Editing Hatch Objects
Chapter 16: The Plot Thickens
You Say “Printing,” We Say “Plotting”
The Plot Quickens
Plotting success in 16 steps
Getting with the system
Configuring your printer
Preview one, two
Instead of fit, scale it
Plotting the Layout of the Land
Plotting Lineweights and Colors
Plotting with style
Plotting through thick and thin
Plotting in color
It’s a (Page) Setup!
Continuing the Plot Dialog
The Plot Sickens
Part IV: Advancing with AutoCAD
Chapter 17: The ABCs of Blocks
Rocking with Blocks
Creating Block Definitions
Inserting Blocks
Attributes: Fill-in-the-Blank Blocks
Creating attribute definitions
Defining blocks that contain attribute definitions
Inserting blocks that contain attribute definitions
Editing attribute values
Extracting data
Exploding Blocks
Purging Unused Block Definitions
Chapter 18: Everything from Arrays to Xrefs
Arraying Associatively
Comparing the old and new ARray commands
Hip, hip, array!
Associatively editing
Going External
Becoming attached to your xrefs
Layer-palooza
Creating and editing an external reference file
Forging an xref path
Managing xrefs
Blocks, Xrefs, and Drawing Organization
Mastering the Raster
Attaching a raster image
Maintaining your image
You Say PDF, We Say DWF
Theme and Variations: Dynamic Blocks
Now you see it
Lights! Parameters!! Actions!!!
Manipulating dynamic blocks
Chapter 19: Call the Parametrics!
Maintaining Design Intent
Defining terms
Forget about drawing with precision!
Constrain yourself
Understanding Geometric Constraints
Applying a little more constraint
Using inferred constraints
AutoConstrain yourself!
Understanding Dimensional Constraints
Practice a little constraint
Making your drawing even smarter
Using the Parameters Manager
Dimensions or constraints? Have it both ways!
Chapter 20: Drawing on the Internet
The Internet and AutoCAD: An Overview
You send me
Send it with eTransmit
Rapid eTransmit
FTP for you and me
Bad reception?
Help from the Reference Manager
Design Web Format — Not Just for the Web
All about DWF and DWFx
Autodesk Design Review 2014
The Drawing Protection Racket
Autodesk Weather Forecast: Increasing Cloud
Free AutoCAD!
Going once, going twice, going 123D
Your head planted firmly in the cloud
Cloudy with a Shower of DWGs: AutoCAD 360
The optional extras
Sharing and collaborating
Part V: On a 3D Spree
Chapter 21: It’s a 3D World After All
Understanding 3D Digital Models
Tools of the 3D Trade
Warp speed ahead
Entering the third dimension
Untying the Ribbon and opening some palettes
Modeling from Above
Using 3D coordinate input
Using point filters
Object snaps and object snap tracking
Changing Planes
Displaying the UCS icon
Adjusting the UCS
Navigating the 3D Waters
Orbit à go-go
Taking a spin around the cube
Grabbing the SteeringWheels
Visualizing 3D Objects
Chapter 22: From Drawings to Models
Is 3D for Me?
Getting Your 3D Bearings
Creating a better 3D template
Seeing the world from new viewpoints
From Drawing to Modeling in 3D
Drawing basic 3D objects
Gaining a solid foundation
Drawing solid primitives
Adding the Third Dimension to 2D Objects
Adding thickness to a 2D object
Extruding open and closed objects
Pressing and pulling closed boundaries
Lofting open and closed objects
Sweeping open and closed objects along a path
Revolving open or closed objects around an axis
Modifying 3D Objects
Selecting subobjects
Working with gizmos
More 3D variants of 2D commands
Editing solids
Chapter 23: It’s Showtime!
Get the 2D Out of Here!
A different point of view
Additional 3D tricks
AutoCAD’s top model
Visualizing the Digital World
Adding Lighting
Default lighting
User-defined lights
Sunlight
Creating and Applying Materials
Defining a Background
Rendering a 3D Model
Part VI: The Part of Tens
Chapter 24: Ten AutoCAD Resources
Autodesk Feedback Community
Autodesk Discussion Groups
Autodesk’s Own Bloggers
Autodesk University
The Autodesk Channel on YouTube
The World Wide (CAD) Web
Your Local Authorized Training Center
Your Local User Group
AUGI
Books
Chapter 25: Ten System Variables to Make Your AutoCAD Life Easier
APERTURE
DIMASSOC
MENUBAR
MIRRTEXT
OSNAPZ
PICKBOX
REMEMBERFOLDERS
ROLLOVERTIPS
TOOLTIPS
VISRETAIN
And the Bonus Round
Chapter 26: Ten AutoCAD Secrets
Sheet Sets
Custom Tool Palettes
Ribbon Customization
Macro Recorder
Programming Languages
Vertical Versions
Language Packs
Dynamic Blocks
Data Extraction and Linking
