Mastering AutoCAD 2016 and AutoCAD LT 2016

Autodesk Official Press

George Omura, Brian C. Benton

• Publisher: Sybex
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781119044840
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Informatik
• Subtopic: CAD-CAM

The bestselling AutoCAD reference, with all new bonus video content

Mastering AutoCAD 2016 and AutoCAD LT 2016 is a complete tutorial and reference, helping you design accurately and efficiently while getting the most out of the AutoCAD 2016 software. Concise explanations and focused examples strengthen your understanding of AutoCAD concepts, while step-by-step instruction and hands-on projects help you develop the skills you need for real-world projects. This new edition covers the latest AutoCAD capabilities, and gives you access to videos demonstrating crucial techniques. The companion website provides all of the project files necessary for the tutorials, and features additional video tutorials and other bonus content. You'll start with the basics of AutoCAD drafting, and gradually build your skills to an advanced level as you learn 3D modeling and imaging. Whether you're preparing for the Autodesk certification or just want to be an AutoCAD guru, this book provides the comprehensive information you need.

• Get acquainted with the AutoCAD 2016interface and drafting tools
• Work with hatches, fields, tables, dynamic blocks, solid fills, and more
• Build an accurate, scalable 3D model of your design for reference
• Customize your AutoCAD and integrate it with other software

Packed with expert tips, tricks, techniques, and tutorials, Mastering AutoCAD 2016 and AutoCAD LT 2016 is your essential guide to get up to speed quickly.

Part 1
The Basics

• Chapter 1: Exploring the Interface
• Chapter 2: Creating Your First Drawing
• Chapter 3: Setting Up and Using the Drafting Tools
• Chapter 4: Organizing Objects with Blocks and Groups
• Chapter 5: Keeping Track of Layers and Blocks

Chapter 1
Exploring the Interface

Before you can start to use the new capabilities of the AutoCAD^® 2016 software, you must become familiar with the basics. If you’re completely new to AutoCAD, you’ll want to read this first chapter carefully. It introduces you to many basic operations of AutoCAD, such as opening and closing files, getting a close-up look at part of a drawing, and changing a drawing. If you’re familiar with earlier versions of AutoCAD, you should review this chapter anyway to get acquainted with the features that you haven’t already used.

Autodesk releases new versions of AutoCAD every year. Part of this strategy is to introduce improvements that focus on a particular category of features. AutoCAD 2016 offers updates that cover a wide range of features. Editing tools, such as Move and Copy, have been enhanced. Text and dimensioning have some new features added. The interface provides more feedback to users than ever before, and the graphic display of drawing elements has been improved. 3D rendering features have been enhanced to help streamline lighting and scene setup.

Before you begin the exercises in this chapter, make sure that you have loaded the sample files from this book’s web page at www.sybex.com/go/masteringautocad2016. See the introduction for details. If you have purchased the e-book version, please see the introduction for instructions on how to download the sample files.

In this chapter, you will learn to

• Use the AutoCAD window
• Get a closer look with the Zoom command
• Save a file as you work
• Make changes and open multiple files

Taking a Guided Tour

First, you’ll get a chance to familiarize yourself with the AutoCAD screen and how you communicate with AutoCAD. As you do the exercises in this chapter, you’ll also get a feel for how to work with this book. Don’t worry about understanding or remembering everything you see in this chapter. You’ll get plenty of opportunities to probe the finer details of the program as you work through the later chapters. To help you remember the material, we have included a brief set of questions at the end of each chapter. For now, just enjoy your first excursion into AutoCAD.

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AutoCAD References in this Book

In this chapter and throughout the rest of the book, when we say AutoCAD, we mean both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT®. Some topics apply only to AutoCAD. In those situations, you’ll see an icon indicating that the topic applies only to AutoCAD and not to AutoCAD LT. If you’re using AutoCAD LT 2016, these icons can help you focus on the topics that are more relevant to your work by letting you skim over items that do not apply.

AutoCAD 2016 is designed to run on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. This book was written using AutoCAD 2016 running on Windows XP Professional.

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Launching AutoCAD

If you’ve already installed AutoCAD (see Appendix B, “Installing and Setting Up AutoCAD”) and are ready to jump in and take a look, proceed with the following steps to launch the program:

1. Choose Start ⇒ All Programs ⇒ Autodesk ⇒ AutoCAD 2016 ⇒ AutoCAD 2016. You can also double-click the AutoCAD 2016 icon on your Windows Desktop. AutoCAD LT users will use AutoCAD LT 2016 in place of AutoCAD 2016.
2. The AutoCAD Start tab appears, offering options to open existing drawings or to create a new drawing. You may also see the Design Feed panel, which allows you to use a cloud-based collaboration feature. Click the Start Drawing thumbnail in the left side of the view under “Get Started” (see Figure 1-1).
3. The AutoCAD window displays a blank default document named Drawing1.dwg. Users may see the Sheet Set Manager palette to the left of the AutoCAD window. In brand-new installations, you will see the Design Feed panel. Close the Design Feed panel for now. AutoCAD LT users may see the Info palette to the left of the AutoCAD window.

Figure 1-1 The Start tab offers easy access to previous work.

If you’re using the trial version, you’ll see the Product License Activation window before step 2. This window shows you the number of days you have left in the trial version. You can also activate the product here if you purchase a license. Click the Try button to continue opening the program. Now let’s look at the AutoCAD window in detail. Don’t worry if it seems like a lot of information. You don’t have to memorize it, but by looking at all of the parts, you’ll be aware of what is available in a general way.

The AutoCAD Window

The AutoCAD program window is divided into several parts:

• Application menu
• Quick Access toolbar
• InfoCenter
• Ribbon
• Drawing tabs
• Drawing area
• UCS icon (User Coordinate System icon)
• Viewport Controls
• ViewCube^®
• Navigation bar
• Command window
• Status bar

Figure 1-2 shows a typical layout of the AutoCAD program window. You can organize the AutoCAD window into any arrangement you want and save it as a workspace. You ...