Ralph Grabowski - AutoCAD For Dummies

AutoCAD® For Dummies®, 19th Edition

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Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2022930466

ISBN 978-1-119-86876-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-86877-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-86878-1 (ebk)

1 Cover

2 Title Page

3 Copyright

4 Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Conventions Used in This Book Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here

5 Part 1: Getting Started with AutoCAD Chapter 1: Introducing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Launching AutoCAD Drawing in AutoCAD Understanding Pixels and Vectors The Cartesian Coordinate System Chapter 2: The Grand Tour of AutoCAD Looking at AutoCAD’s Drawing Screen Getting with the Program 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 Following the Plot Chapter 4: Setup for Success A Setup Roadmap A Template for Success Making the Most of Model Space Making Templates Your Own Chapter 5: A Zoom with a View Panning and Zooming with Glass and Hand Zoom, Zoom, Zoom A View by Any Other Name Degenerating and Regenerating

6 Part 2: Let There Be Lines Chapter 6: Along the Straight and Narrow Drawing for Success Introducing the Straight-Line Drawing Commands Drawing Lines and Polylines Squaring Off with Rectangles Choosing Sides with POLygon Chapter 7: Dangerous Curves Ahead Throwing Curves Going Full Circle Arc-y-ology Solar Ellipses Splines: Sketchy, Sinuous Curves Donuts: 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 Grabbing an Object and Making It Snappy Other Practical Precision Procedures Chapter 9: Manage Your Properties Using Properties with Objects Working with Layers Using Named Objects Using AutoCAD DesignCenter Chapter 10: Grabbing Onto Object Selection Commanding and Selecting Selecting Objects 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 More Manipulations Slicing, Dicing, and Splicing Getting a Grip When Editing Goes Bad Dare to Compare Chapter 12: Planning for Paper Setting Up a Layout in Paper Space Any Old Viewport in a Layout Practice Makes Perfect Clever Paper Space Tricks

7 Part 3: If Drawings Could Talk Chapter 13: Text with Character Getting Ready to Write Creating Simply Stylish Text Taking Your Text to New Heights Entering Text Using the Same Old Line Saying More in Multiline Text Turning On Annotative Objects Gather Round the Tables Take Me to Your Leader Chapter 14: Entering New Dimensions Adding Dimensions to a Drawing Dimensioning the Legacy Way A Field Guide to Dimensions The Latest Styles in Dimensioning Scaling Dimensions for Output Editing Dimensions And the Correct Layer Is … Chapter 15: Down the Hatch! Creating Hatches Hatching Its Own Layer Using the Hatches Tab Scaling Hatches Pushing the Boundaries of Hatch Editing Hatch Objects Chapter 16: The Plot Thickens You Say “Printing,” I Say “Plotting” The Plot Quickens Plotting the Layout of the Land Plotting Lineweights and Colors It’s a (Page) Setup! Continuing the Plot Dialog The Plot Sickens

8 Part 4: Advancing with AutoCAD Chapter 17: The ABCs of Blocks Rocking with Blocks Creating Block Definitions Inserting Blocks Attributes: Fill-in-the-Blank Blocks Exploding Blocks Purging Unused Block Definitions Chapter 18: Everything from Arrays to Xrefs Arraying Associatively Going External Blocks, Xrefs, and Drawing Organization Mastering the Raster You Say PDF; I Say DWF Theme and Variations: Dynamic Blocks Chapter 19: Call the Parametrics! Maintaining Design Intent Understanding Geometric Constraints Understanding Dimensional Constraints Lunchtime! Chapter 20: Drawing on the Internet The Internet and AutoCAD: An Overview The Drawing Protection Racket Outgoing! AutoCAD Web and Mobile

9 Part 5: On a 3D Spree Chapter 21: It’s a 3D World After All The 3.5 Kinds of 3D Digital Models Tools of the 3D Trade Modeling from Above Changing Work Planes Visualizing 3D Objects On a Render Bender Chapter 22: From Drawings to Models Is 3D for Me? Getting Your 3D Bearings From Drawing to Modeling in 3D Adding the Third Dimension to 2D Objects Modifying 3D Objects Chapter 23: It’s Showtime! Get the 2D Out of Here! Visualizing the Digital World Adding Lights Creating and Applying Materials Defining a Background Rendering a 3D Model Chapter 24: AutoCAD Plays Well with Others Get Out of Here! Open Up and Let Me In! Translation, Please! The Importance of Being DWG