AutoCAD For Dummies. Ralph Grabowski

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      When there is a specific action that I want you to take at one of these prompts, look for the italic passage at the end of the line, such as when I want you to press the Enter key on the keyboard:

       Specify ending width <5.0000>: Press Enter

      Text that I want you to type into the program at the command line, in a dialog box, in a text box, or elsewhere appears in boldface type, like the 3 at the end of the following line.

       Specify starting width <0.0000>: 3

      Many figures in this book also show AutoCAD command-line sequences that demonstrate AutoCAD’s prompts and sample responses.

      Using aliases

      Many AutoCAD commands have aliases — shortcut versions of commands that have fewer letters than the full command names, in case you like typing commands at the AutoCAD command line. In this book, I show aliases in uppercase as part of the command names. To start a command with an alias, you have to type only that uppercase letters that I show you. For example, to draw a line, type either Line (the official command) or L (its alias) and then press Enter to execute the command. When I tell you to start a command, I spell it out in full (such as Line, Circle, or COpy), but you need to enter only the letters I show in uppercase (L, C, or CO, respectively). Note also that the uppercase letters aren’t always the initial letters nor are they always adjacent. For example, the eXit command can be entered as the full word or as just the letter X and DimANgular can be entered as DAN.

      As you begin to type a command name at the keyboard, the program will try to guess the ones you might want by displaying a list of suggestions. You can click the name you want or keep typing until your choice rises to the top, at which point you simply press Enter or the space bar.

Icons Used in This Book

      Throughout this book, I point out certain morsels of particularly important and useful information by placing handy icons in the margin. Naturally, different icons indicate different types of information.

The Tip icon points to insights that can save you time and trouble as you use AutoCAD. In many cases, Tip information acts as a funnel on AutoCAD’s impressive but sometimes overwhelming flexibility: After telling you many of the ways that you can do something, I tell you the way that you should do it, in most cases.

      

The Technical Stuff icon points out places where I delve a little more deeply into AutoCAD’s inner workings or point out information that most people don’t need to know most of the time. These paragraphs definitely are not required reading, so if you see one at a point when you’ve reached your techie-detail threshold, feel free to skip it.

      

The Warning icon tells you how to stay out of trouble when working close to the edge. Failure to heed its messages may have unpleasant consequences for you or your drawing — or both.

      

The Remember icon knows that you have a lot to remember when you’re using AutoCAD, so I’ve remembered to remind you not to forget about some of those things that you should remember.

Beyond the Book

      I have written a lot of extra content that you won’t find in this book. Go online to find

       AutoCAD drawings: Drawings that you can use with this book are at www.dummies.com/go/autocadfd19. The drawings, which are on the Downloads tab, are in Zip format; download and unzip them to a folder, and they’ll be ready to open in AutoCAD. The Zip files are named according to chapter and contain one or more drawing files. For example, afd03.zip contains the drawings for Chapter 3. Note that not all chapters have drawing files associated with them.

       Cheat sheet: The cheat sheet for this book has a roadmap for setting up new drawings, as well as a list of keyboard shortcuts. To get to the cheat sheet, go to www.dummies.com and type AutoCAD For Dummies in the Search box.

       Updates: If I have any updates to the book, you can find them at www.dummies.com/extras/autocad19.

Where to Go from Here

      Because you’re reading this Introduction, you are like me — you like to read. (The cut-to-the-chase people tend to flip to the index right away and look up what they need to know at that instant.) If you’re a total AutoCAD newbie, you might want to read this book in order, from front to back; it follows a straightforward route from setting up the drawing environment to outputting your masterworks on paper to sharing your work with others.

      If you’re an experienced user, you’ll probably be an index-flipper who looks for the missing information needed to complete a specific task. You can probably find the index on your own, but I encourage you to browse through this book anyway, with a highlighter or sticky notes in hand, so that you can find those particularly important places when you need them again.

      Whichever route you choose, I hope that you enjoy your time with AutoCAD For Dummies. A-a-and, you’re off!

Part 1

      Getting Started with AutoCAD

IN THIS PART …

      Find your way around the AutoCAD screen.

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

      See the big picture: from how to start a drawing to printing it.

      Correctly set up AutoCAD and create templates for drawing success.

      Navigate through your drawing by panning and zooming.

Chapter 1

      Introducing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT

      IN THIS CHAPTER

      

Launching AutoCAD

      

Creating your first drawing in AutoCAD

      

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