Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Getting Started with AutoCAD ........................................1-1
1.1 Starting AutoCAD ..................................................................1-3
1.2 AutoCAD’s User Interface.....................................................1-4
1.3 Working with Commands......................................................1-7
Starting Commands.................................................................1-7
Ribbon .....................................................................................1-9
Application Menu ...................................................................1-10
Quick Access Toolbar............................................................1-12
Additional Shortcut Menus.....................................................1-12
1.4 AutoCAD’s Cartesian Workspace ......................................1-15
How AutoCAD Locates Points...............................................1-15
How AutoCAD Measures Angles...........................................1-16
Drawings Created at Full Scale .............................................1-16
1.5 Opening an Existing Drawing File......................................1-17
Closing a File.........................................................................1-19
Practice 1a Opening a Drawing........................................... 1-20
1.6 Viewing Your Drawing.........................................................1-21
Wheel Mouse Zoom and Pan ................................................1-21
Zoom and Pan Commands....................................................1-22
Practice 1b Viewing a Drawing............................................ 1-24
1.7 Saving Your Work................................................................1-25
Automatic Saves....................................................................1-25
Saving in Various Formats ....................................................1-26
Practice 1c Saving a Drawing File....................................... 1-27
Chapter 2 Basic Drawing & Editing Commands .............................2-1
2.1 Drawing Lines ........................................................................2-3
Specifying Length and Angle...................................................2-4
Line Command Options...........................................................2-4
Practice 2a Drawing Lines with Dynamic Input...................... 2-5
2.2 Erasing Objects .....................................................................2-6
Practice 2b Erase .................................................................. 2-7
2.3 Drawing Lines with Polar Tracking......................................2-8
Practice 2c Polar Tracking................................................... 2-10
2.4 Drawing Rectangles ............................................................2-11
Practice 2d Drawing Rectangles Using Coordinates........... 2-12
2.5 Drawing Circles....................................................................2-13
Practice 2e Drawing Circles................................................. 2-16
2.6 Undo and Redo Actions......................................................2-17
Chapter 3 Projects - Creating a Simple Drawing.............................3-1
3.1 Create a Simple Drawing.......................................................3-3
3.2 Create Simple Shapes...........................................................3-4
Chapter 4 Drawing Precision in AutoCAD .......................................4-1
4.1 Using Running Object Snaps ...............................................4-3
Object Snap Settings...............................................................4-4
Practice 4a Using Object Snaps............................................ 4-7
4.2 Using Object Snap Overrides...............................................4-9
Practice 4b Object Snap Overrides ..................................... 4-12
4.3 Polar Tracking at Angles.....................................................4-13
Practice 4c Polar Tracking................................................... 4-15
4.4 Object Snap Tracking..........................................................4-16
Notes on Object Snap Tracking.............................................4-17
Practice 4d Object Snap Tracking I ..................................... 4-18
Practice 4e Object Snap Tracking II .................................... 4-20
4.5 Drawing with Snap and Grid (Optional).............................4-22
Snap and Grid Settings..........................................................4-23
Practice 4f Placing Objects on a Drawing ........................... 4-24
Chapter 5 Making Changes in Your Drawing ..................................5-1
5.1 Selecting Objects for Editing................................................5-3
Window and Crossing..............................................................5-3
Selecting Objects Before the Command..................................5-4
Practice 5a Selecting Objects................................................ 5-5
5.2 Moving Objects......................................................................5-6
Practice 5b Moving an Object................................................ 5-8
5.3 Copying Objects ....................................................................5-9
Practice 5c Copying an Object ............................................ 5-11
5.4 Rotating Objects..................................................................5-12
Practice 5d Rotating an Object............................................ 5-13
5.5 Scaling Objects....................................................................5-14
Practice 5e Scaling an Object.............................................. 5-15
5.6 Mirroring Objects.................................................................5-16
Practice 5f Mirroring Objects ............................................... 5-17
5.7 Editing with Grips................................................................5-18
Working with Hot Grips..........................................................5-18
Grips with Dynamic Dimensions............................................5-20
Advanced Grip Options..........................................................5-21
Practice 5g Editing with Grips (Basic).................................. 5-22
Practice 5h Editing with Grips (Advanced) .......................... 5-23
Chapter 6 Projects - Making Your Drawings More Precise ............6-1
6.2 Architectural Project: Landscape ........................................6-4
6.3 Mechanical Project (with Polar & Tracking)........................6-6
6.4 Mechanical Project: Surge Protector...................................6-7
6.5 Mechanical Project: Satellite ................................................6-8
Chapter 7 Organizing Your Drawing with Layers............................7-1
7.1 Creating New Drawings WithTemplates.............................7-3
What is a Template?................................................................7-3
Starting New Drawings ............................................................7-3
Working with Different Types of Units......................................7-5
Practice 7a Using a Template to Start a Drawing.................. 7-6
7.2 What are Layers?...................................................................7-8
Setting the Current Layer.........................................................7-9
Practice 7b Drawing with Layers ......................................... 7-11
7.3 Layer States .........................................................................7-12
On/Off....................................................................................7-12
Thaw/Freeze..........................................................................7-12
Lock/Unlock ...........................................................................7-12
Practice 7c Changing the Layer State ................................. 7-14
7.4 Changing an Object’s Layer ...............................................7-15
Match Layer...........................................................................7-16
Practice 7d Changing an Object’s Layer ............................. 7-17
Chapter 8 Advanced Object Types...................................................8-1
8.1 Drawing Arcs..........................................................................8-3
Arc Command Options ............................................................8-4
Notes on Arcs ..........................................................................8-4
Practice 8a Drawing an Arc ................................................... 8-5
8.2 Drawing Polylines..................................................................8-7
Practice 8b Drawing Polylines for a Flowchart ...................... 8-9
8.3 Editing Polylines..................................................................8-11
Converting Lines and Arcs to Polylines .................................8-12
Turning Polylines into Lines and Arcs....................................8-13
Practice 8c Editing Polylines................................................ 8-15
8.4 Drawing Polygons ...............................................................8-16
Practice 8d Drawing Polygons............................................. 8-18
8.5 Drawing Ellipses..................................................................8-19
Practice 8e Drawing Ellipses ............................................... 8-21
Chapter 9 Getting Information from Your Drawing.........................9-1
9.1 Working with Object Properties ...........................................9-3
Quick Properties ......................................................................9-3
The Properties Palette.............................................................9-4
Matching Properties.................................................................9-7
Quick Select.............................................................................9-8
Practice 9a Mechanical - Working with Object Properties... 9-10
Practice 9b Architectural - Working with Object Properties . 9-11
9.2 Measuring Objects...............................................................9-12
Using the Measure Tools.......................................................9-12
Measuring Distances .............................................................9-13
Measuring Radius and Diameter ...........................................9-14
Measuring Angles..................................................................9-14
Measuring Areas....................................................................9-15
Practice 9c Architectural - Measuring Objects..................... 9-17
Practice 9d Mechanical - Measuring Objects ...................... 9-18
Chapter 10 Projects - Drawing Organization & Information.........10-1
10.1 Architectural Project ...........................................................10-3
Chapter 11 Advanced Editing Commands.....................................11-1
11.1 Trimming and Extending Objects ......................................11-3
Trimming Objects ..................................................................11-3
Practice 11a Extending and Trimming Objects.................... 11-6
Practice 11b Trimming Objects on a Drawing ..................... 11-7
Practice 11c Break at Point ................................................. 11-8
11.2 Stretching Objects...............................................................11-9
Practice 11d Stretching Objects ........................................ 11-11
11.3 Creating Fillets and Chamfers..........................................11-12
Practice 11e Filleting Objects ............................................ 11-15
Practice 11f Chamfering Objects....................................... 11-16
11.4 Offsetting Objects..............................................................11-17
Practice 11g Offsetting Objects ......................................... 11-19
11.5 Creating Arrays of Objects ...............................................11-20
Practice 11h Rectangular Array......................................... 11-23
Practice 11i Polar Array..................................................... 11-24
Chapter 12 Inserting Blocks............................................................12-1
12.1 What are Blocks?.................................................................12-3
12.2 Inserting Blocks...................................................................12-5
Practice 12a Inserting Blocks .............................................. 12-7
12.3 Inserting Dynamic Blocks...................................................12-8
Inserting Blocks with Tool Palettes........................................12-9
Practice 12b Working with Dynamic Blocks....................... 12-12
12.4 Inserting Blocks with DesignCenter ................................12-14
DesignCenter Content .........................................................12-15
Practice 12c DesignCenter................................................ 12-17
Chapter 13 Projects - Creating More Complex Objects................13-1
13.5 Architectural Project 1 - Floor Plan....................................13-7
13.6 Architectural Project 2 - Floor Plan....................................13-9
Chapter 14 Setting Up a Layout......................................................14-1
14.1 Printing Concepts................................................................14-3
Model Space Printing.............................................................14-4
Paper Space Layout Printing.................................................14-5
14.2 Working in Layouts .............................................................14-6
Switch Between Paper Space & Model Space......................14-7
14.3 Copying Layouts..................................................................14-9
14.4 Creating Viewports............................................................14-11
Scaling Viewports ................................................................14-13
14.5 Guidelines for Layouts......................................................14-15
Practice 14a Working With Layouts................................... 14-16
Chapter 15 Printing Your Drawing..................................................15-1
15.1 Printing Layouts ..................................................................15-3
Previewing the Plot...................................................................................15-4
Practice 15a Printing Layouts.............................................. 15-5
15.2 Printing from the Model Tab...............................................15-6
Practice 15b Printing Check Plots ..................................... 15-10
Chapter 16 Projects - Preparing to Print........................................16-1
16.1 Mechanical Project ..............................................................16-3
16.2 Architectural Project ...........................................................16-4
Chapter 17 Text ................................................................................17-1
17.1 Working with Annotations ..................................................17-3
Working with Annotative Styles .............................................17-4
17.2 Adding Text in a Drawing....................................................17-5
Copying and Importing Text...................................................17-7
Spell Checking.......................................................................17-8
Practice 17a Adding Text in a Drawing................................ 17-9
17.3 Modifying Multiline Text....................................................17-12
Changing Text Width and Length ........................................17-13
Changing Text Properties....................................................17-14
Spell Checking.....................................................................17-14
Practice 17b Modifying Multiline Text ................................ 17-16
17.4 Formatting Multiline Text..................................................17-18
Formatting the Multiline Text Object....................................17-18
Formatting Selected Text.....................................................17-19
Formatting Paragraph Text..................................................17-22
Creating Columns................................................................17-25
Practice 17c Formatting Multiline Text in a Drawing.......... 17-27
Chapter 18 Hatching ........................................................................18-1
18.1 Hatching ...............................................................................18-3
Applying a Hatch Using Tool Palettes ...................................18-4
Applying a Hatch Using the Hatch Command .......................18-5
Hatch Options........................................................................18-6
18.2 Editing Hatches..................................................................18-11
Grip Editing Hatch Boundaries ............................................18-12
Practice 18a Hatching Using the Tool Palettes ................. 18-14
Practice 18b Hatching (Mechanical).................................. 18-15
Practice 18c Hatching (Architectural) ................................ 18-17
Chapter 19 Adding Dimensions......................................................19-1
19.1 Dimensioning Concepts......................................................19-3
19.2 Adding Linear Dimensions .................................................19-4
Individual Linear Dimensions.................................................19-4
Multiple Linear Dimensions....................................................19-6
Quick Dimensioning...............................................................19-7
Practice 19a Adding Linear Dimensions (Architectural) ...... 19-8
Practice 19b Adding Linear Dimensions (Mechanical) ........ 19-9
19.3 Adding Radial & Angular Dimensions.............................19-10
Radius and Diameter Dimensions .......................................19-10
Angular Dimensions.............................................................19-12
Practice 19c Adding Radial & Angular
Dimensional (Architectural)................................................. 19-14
Practice 19d Adding Radial and Angular
Dimensions (Mechanical).................................................... 19-15
19.4 Editing Dimensions ...........................................................19-16
Editing Dimensions using Grips...........................................19-16
Dimension Shortcut Options................................................19-17
Editing the Dimension Text..................................................19-18
Adjusting Dimension Spacing..............................................19-18
Dimension Breaks................................................................19-19
Practice 19e Editing Dimensions (Architectural)................ 19-20
Practice 19f Editing Dimensions (Mechanical) .................. 19-21
19.5 Adding Notes with Leaders to Your Drawing..................19-22
Modifying Multileaders.........................................................19-24
Practice 19g Adding Notes to Your Drawing ..................... 19-29
Chapter 20 Projects - Annotating Your Drawing...........................20-1
20.2 Architectural Project 1 ........................................................20-4
20.3 Architectural Project 2 ........................................................20-5
Appendix A Skills Assessment Part 1............................................. A-1
A.1 Skills Assessment Part 1 ..................................................... A-3