AutoCAD 2014 For Dummies

Bill Fane, David Byrnes

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781118603970
• eBook ISBN: 9781118651957
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: CAD-CAM
• Index: Computer Science

Find your way around AutoCAD 2014 with this full-color, For Dummies guide! Put away that pencil and paper and start putting the power of AutoCAD 2014 to work in your CAD projects and designs. From setting up your drawing environment to using text, dimensions, hatching, and more, this guide walks you through AutoCAD basics and provides you with a solid understanding of the latest CAD tools and techniques. You'll also benefit from the full-color illustrations that mirror exactly what you'll see on your AutoCAD 2014 screen and highlight the importance of AutoCAD's Model view, which shows different line weights for printing in different colors.

• Covers the latest AutoCAD features and techniques, including creating a basic layout, navigating the AutoCAD 2014 interface, drawing and editing, working with dimensions, plotting, adding text, using blocks, and more
• Shows you how to make the best use of color in your AutoCAD designs, take advantage of the AutoCAD DesignCenter, and showcase your work to potential clients and customers
• Includes practical advice and guidance on real-world methods and tips used by architects, engineers, and other CAD professionals to create compelling 3D models and detailed technical drawings

You'll quickly get up to speed on all AutoCAD has to offer with AutoCAD 2014 For Dummies in your toolbox.

Part I

Getting Started with AutoCAD 2014

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In this part . . .

Find your way around the AutoCAD screen, and see where the tools you use most often, like the Ribbon, graphic screen, and command line, are at.

Discover the half-dozen commands that account for much of your AutoCAD activities.

See the big picture — start to finish — how to start a drawing to printing it.

Correctly set up AutoCAD and create templates to have drawing success.

Navigate through your drawing by panning and zooming.

1

Introducing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT

In This Chapter

Determining what AutoCAD can do for you

Opening AutoCAD

Creating your first drawing in AutoCAD

The complete picture

The difference between pixels and vectors

Comprehending the Cartesian Coordinate System

The DWG file format

This chapter helps ease you into using AutoCAD to create engineering drawings and how to get started. Although it’s not uncommon to feel overwhelmed the first time you see AutoCAD, rest assured that you don’t need to learn all of the controls that you see in the default environment to be an efficient user of the program.

After a brief introduction of the program, we show you just how easy it can be to use AutoCAD with an exercise. The exercise is followed up with some key concepts that you should understand when using AutoCAD, including how it differs from most other computer applications.

When you’re starting out with AutoCAD, heed this quote from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Don’t panic!

Checking Out What AutoCAD Can Do for You

AutoCAD is, first and foremost, a program for creating two-dimensional technical drawings — in which measurements and precision are important because these kinds of drawings are often used to build something. And AutoCAD’s 3D capabilities have grown by leaps and bounds over the past several releases, with 3D modeling becoming a common way to check designs before they’re drafted.

The upfront investment to use AutoCAD (not only your money if you paid for it, but your time to learn it) is certainly more expensive than the investment needed to use pencil and paper, and the learning curve is much steeper, too. But this book is here to help you with that learning curve.

Whether you’re choosing to use AutoCAD for your computer-aided drafting (CAD) needs or the software was foisted upon you, you’ll appreciate these attributes, which make the program easier to use than the pencil and paper you may have used in the past:

Precision: Creating lines, circles, and other shapes with exact dimensions is easier using AutoCAD than a pencil.

Modifiability: Drawings are much easier to modify on the computer screen than on paper. CAD modifications are a lot cleaner, too.

Efficiency: Creating many kinds of drawings is faster with a CAD program, especially drawings that involve repetition, such as floor plans in a multistory building.

Popularity: Everyone is using it. Several flavors are available from Autodesk to suit specific markets such as mechanical, electrical, architectural, and civil. There are far more copies of AutoCAD in use than all other CAD programs combined.

Opening AutoCAD

The first thing you need to do to start using AutoCAD is launch AutoCAD (well, duh!) and, if necessary, maximize its screen display. AutoCAD has so many tools and palettes that you’ll always want to use it in full-screen mode. Follow these steps:

1. Double-click the AutoCAD shortcut on the Windows desktop.

If you don’t have an AutoCAD shortcut on your desktop, choose Start⇒[All] Programs⇒Autodesk⇒AutoCAD 2014 English⇒AutoCAD 2014 English, if you are using Windows XP or Windows 7. If you’re using Windows 8, click AutoCAD 2014 – English on the start screen. The exact wording of the selections vary between the different versions of AutoCAD and Windows, but it isn’t difficult to figure out what you’re looking for.

2. Click the Close button in the lower-right corner of the Welcome screen.

If you don’t want to encounter the Welcome screen again, select the Display at Startup check box in the lower-left corner.

3. Expand AutoCAD to full-screen mode by clicking the middle Windows button in the upper-right corner of the application window.

4. Expand the graphic area (the big, gray area in the middle) to full-screen size by clicking the middle button in the upper-right corner, near the compass rosette.

5. If the Design Feed palette is displayed, close it by clicking the X at its top-left corner.

AutoCAD remembers how it was last closed and opens the same way the next time you open it.

6. Place the cursor in the gray graphics area (midscreen) and then press the Esc key t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Part I: Getting Started with AutoCAD 2014
• Part II: Let There Be Lines
• Part III: If Drawings Could Talk
• Part IV: Advancing with AutoCAD
• Part V: On a 3D Spree
• Part VI: The Part of Tens
• Cheat Sheet