Title Details

Donnie Gladfelter is the man behind the CAD Geek blog (www.thecadgeek.com), which gets more than 10,000 visitors each month. A columnist for AUGIWorld Magazine, a top-rated speaker at Autodesk University and other industry events, and a trainer at CADD Microsystems, Donnie is a respected thought leader in the CAD community. He has worked with the development team at Autodesk, and is often featured in their popular "Ask the Expert" series.

Introduction xix

Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD for Windows 1

Starting AutoCAD for Windows 2

Exploring the User Interface 2

Using the Start Tab 2

Introducing Workspaces 5

Exploring the Drafting & Annotation Workspace 6

Putting the User Interface to Work 11

Using the Ribbon 12

Using File Tabs to Manage Drawings 16

Working in the Command-Line Interface 17

Understanding the Status Bar 21

Using the Application Menu 23

Using the Keyboard 28

Using the Mouse 29

If You Would Like More Practice 29

Finding Tools in the User Interface 31

Are You Experienced? 32

Chapter 2 Learning Basic Commands to Get Started 33

Using the Line Tool 33

Using Coordinates 38

Using Relative Coordinates 42

Using the Direct Distance Method 44

Drawing the Shape 44

Using Relative Cartesian Coordinates 45

Erasing Lines 46

Using Relative Polar Coordinates 47

Using Direct Input 48

Using the OFFSET Command 49

Using the FILLET Command 52

Completing the Shape 56

Offsetting Lines to Mark an Opening 56

Extending Lines 57

Trimming Lines 59

If You Would Like More Practice 63

Are You Experienced? 64

Chapter 3 Setting Up a Drawing 65

Setting Up the Drawing Units 66

Setting Up the Drawing Size 71

Using the Grid 72

Setting Up Drawing Limits 75

Drawing with Grid and Snap 78

Taking a Closer Look at Dynamic Input 82

Saving Your Work 85

Saving Drawings to Your Hard Drive or Network Drive 85

Saving Drawings to A360 Drive 88

Understanding AutoCAD Units 90

Exploring Options for Linear Units 90

Exploring Options for Angular Units 91

Are You Experienced? 92

Chapter 4 Developing Drawing Strategies: Part 1 93

Laying Out the Walls 94

Creating Polylines from Existing Objects 95

Creating the Exterior Wall Lines 99

Creating the Interior Walls 103

Cutting Openings in the Walls 117

Creating Doors 127

Drawing Swinging Doors 127

Copying Objects 138

Mirroring Objects 140

Scaling the Bathroom Door 143

Drawing a Sliding-Glass Door 145

Drawing the Bifold Doors 157

Reviewing Drawing Strategies Used in This Chapter 162

If You Would Like More Practice 163

An Alternative Sliding-Glass Door 163

An Addition to the Cabin 164

Three Views of a Block 165

Are You Experienced? 167

Chapter 5 Developing Drawing Strategies: Part 2 169

Starting and Running Commands 170

Drawing the Thresholds 172

Drawing the Front Threshold 17 3

Drawing the Back Threshold 178

Drawing the Decks and Stairs 180

Drawing the Front Deck 180

Drawing the Deck Posts 183

Drawing the Stairs 188

Mirroring the Post and Railing 189

Drawing the Back Deck and Stairs 193

Using Point Filters to Finish the Deck 199

Laying Out the Kitchen 202

Drawing the Counter 203

Drawing the Stove and Refrigerator 208

Completing the Stove with Parametrics 210

Drawing the Kitchen Sink 223

Constructing the Bathroom 226

Setting Running Object Snaps 227

Drawing a Shower Unit 228

Drawing the Bathroom Sink and Mirror 230

Positioning the Toilet and Shelves 234

Drawing the Hot Tub 237

If You Would Like More Practice 241

Drawing the Cabin Again 241

Drawing Something Else 241

Drawing Furniture for the Cabin 241

Drawing a Gasket 242

Drawing a Parking Lot 244

Are You Experienced? 246

Chapter 6 Using Layers to Organize Your Drawing 247

Using Layers as an Organizing Tool 248

Setting Up Layers 250

Assigning Linetypes to Layers 262

Assigning Objects to Layers 266

Turning Off and Freezing Layers 282

Drawing the Headers 286

Drawing the Roof 290

Setting a Linetype Scale Factor 296

Drawing the Ridgeline 299

Using the Layer Walk Tool 300

Setting Properties of Layers and Objects 302

Assigning a Color or a Linetype to an Object Instead of a Layer302

Making a Color or a Linetype Current 303

Using the Action Recorder 304

If You Would Like More Practice 307

Creating a Layer State 308

Setting Up Layers for Your Trade or Profession 312

Are You Experienced? 312

Chapter 7 Combining Objects into Blocks 313

Making a Block for a Door 313

Inserting the Door Block 321

Understanding and Using Groups 327

Finding Blocks in a Drawing 330

Using Grips to Detect a Block 330

Using the LIST Command to Detect a Block 331

Using the Properties Palette to Examine a Block 333

Creating a Window Bloc 334

Inserting the Window Block 339

Rotating a Block During Insertion 340

Using Snap Tracking to Set the Insertion Point 343

Changing a Block’s Scale Factor by Using Object Properties 346

Finishing the Windows 348

Revising a Block 352

Sharing Information Between Drawings 355

Copying Objects Between Drawings 355

Using the AutoCAD DesignCenter 357

Other Ways to Share Information Between Drawings 363

If You Would Like More Practice 371

Are You Experienced? 373

Chapter 8 Controlling Text in a Drawing 375

Setting Up Text Styles 376

Determining the Text and Drawing Scales 377

Defining a Text Style for View Titles 378

Placing Titles of Views in the Drawing 382

Using Annotative Text 387

Defining an Annotative Text Style 387

Placing Room Labels in the Floor Plan 390

Using Text in a Grid 402

Creating a Border and Title Block 413

Using Multiline Text 430

Finishing the Title Block 430

Using Mtext for General Notes 434

Using the Spell Check Feature 443

Exploring Other Aspects of Multiline Text 446

If You Would Like More Practice 451

Are You Experienced? 452

Chapter 9 Using Dynamic Blocks and Tables 453

Using Attributes for a Grid 454

Defining Blocks with Attributes 459

Inserting Blocks with Attributes 461

Editing Attribute Text 464

Setting Up Multiple Attributes in a Block 465

Defining a Block with Multiple Attributes 470

Calculating Areas 471

Inserting the Room Information Block 475

Editing Attributes 481

Controlling the Visibility of Attributes 485

Exploring Other Uses for Attributes 489

Creating a Dynamic Block 490

Setting Up Parameters and Actions 492

Fine-Tuning the Dynamic Block with the Properties Palette 496

Inserting a Dynamic Block 500

Creating a Table 506

Defining a Table Style 507

Designing a Table 511

Adding Formulas to a Table 515

Creating Tables from Attributes 519

Modifying the Table Display 525

If You Would Like More Practice 528

Are You Experienced? 528

Chapter 10 Generating Elevations 529

Drawing the South Elevation 530

Creating the South Elevation 530

Setting Up Lines for the Heights 533

Using Construction Lines to Project Elevation Points 534

Copying Objects by Using Grips 536

Trimming Lines in the Elevation 539

Assigning Elevation Layers 544

Drawing the Decks in Elevation 546

Generating the Other Elevations 561

Making the Opposite Elevation 562

Revising the New South Elevation 565

Making the Front and Back Elevations 571

Considering Drawing Scale Issues 582

Drawing Interior Elevations 583

If You Would Like More Practice 583

Are You Experienced? 585

Chapter 11 Working with Hatches, Gradients, and Tool Palettes 587

Hatching the South Elevation 588

Looking at Hatch Patterns 592

Hatching the Rest of the South Elevation 594

Using Hatches in the Floor Plan 607

Creating the User-Defined Hatch Pattern 608

Controlling the Origin of the Hatch Pattern 610

Finishing the Hatches for the Floors 612

Modifying the Shape of Hatch Patterns 614

Creating and Managing Tool Palettes 616

Creating a New Tool Palette 616

Setting Up a Palette for Hatches 620

Creating a Palette for Commands 622

If You Would Like More Practice 624

Creating the Hatch Patterns for the Other Elevations 624

Are You Experienced? 626

Chapter 12 Dimensioning a Drawing 627

Introducing Dimension Styles 627

Preparing for Dimensioning 628

Creating a Text Style for Dimensions 630

Making a New Dimension Style 631

Setting Up the Primary Units Tab (Architectural) 636

Setting Up the Primary Units Tab (Metric) 637

Completing the Dimension Style Setup 639

Exploring the Alternate Units and Tolerances Tabs 641

Placing Dimensions on the Drawing 643

Placing Dimensions 644

Using the Dimension Continue Command 646

Using the Dimension Baseline Command 649

Setting Up Vertical Dimensions 650

Finishing the Dimensions 653

Placing Other Types of Dimensions 654

Placing Radial Dimensions 655

Placing a Diameter Dimension 657

Placing an Arc Length 658

Setting Up Parent and Child Dimensioning Styles 659

Using Aligned and Angular Dimensions 661

Using Leader Lines 664

Modifying Dimensions 670

Editing Dimension Text Content 670

Moving Dimensions 673

Adjusting Space Between Stacked Dimensions 676

Using Dimension Overrides 677

Dimensioning Short Distances 679

If You Would Like More Practice 683

Dimensioning the Garage Addition 683

Dimensioning to a Centerline 685

Practicing on Your Own 688

Are You Experienced? 689

Chapter 13 Managing External References 691

Drawing a Site Plan 692

Using Surveyor’s Units 693

Drawing the Driveway 697

Setting Up an External Reference 705

Using the External References Palette 705

Organizing the Drawing Objects 711

Moving and Rotating an Xref 713

Modifying an Xref Drawing 714

Modifying an Xref by Making It the Current Drawing 714

Modifying an Xref from Within the Host Drawing 718

Adding an Image to a Drawing 723

Putting Xrefs to Use 727

Exploring Additional Xref Features 729

Setting the Xref Path 729

Changing Path Types 731

Binding Xrefs 732

Exploring on Your Own 735

If You Would Like More Practice 736

Building Architectural References 736

Comparing Reference Types 737

Are You Experienced? 737

Chapter 14 Using Layouts to Set Up a Print 739

Preparing the Title Block 740

Creating the Title Block Drawing 740

Sizing and Cleaning Up the Title Block 743

Defining the Title Block Attributes 745

Setting Up a Sheet Template 750

Finishing the Sheet Template 755

Creating Plan Sheets 758

Creating the Cover Sheet 758

Generating Floor Plan Sheets 760

Composing the Floor Plan Sheets 765

Creating Elevation Sheets 770

Composing the South Elevation 771

Composing the Other Elevations 772

Using Sheet Set Manager 775

Creating a New Sheet Set 775

Adding Drawings to a Sheet Set 779

Defining Sheet Properties 781

If You Would Like More Practice 786

Are You Experienced? 787

Chapter 15 Printing a Drawing 789

Using the Plot Dialog Box 790

Assigning Lineweights to a Drawing 795

Assigning Lineweights to Layers 796

Updating Xref Layer Definitions 802

Plotting from Model Space 804

Configuring the Plot 804

Previewing a Print 807

Plotting a Drawing Using Layouts 809

Publishing a Single Layout 809

Publishing Multiple Layouts 811

Publishing with Sheet Set Manager 814

A Few Words About Plot Styles 817

Introducing Plot Style Table Files 817

Understanding How Plot Style Table Files Are Organized 818

Going Forward 822

If You Would Like More Practice 822

Are You Experienced? 823

Chapter 16 Creating 3D Geometry 825

Modeling in 3D 826

Setting Up the 3D Workspace and Environment 826

Making the Walls 831

Creating the Door and Window Block-Outs 835

Moving and Rotating in 3D 840

Using the First Right-Hand Rule 840

Cutting the Openings 845

Creating the Floor, Foundation, and Thresholds 847

Creating the Foundation and Supports 849

Building the Windows 851

Navigating with the ViewCube 865

Adding the Sliding Door 868

Building the Decks 871

Putting a Roof on the Cabin 889

Getting Further Directions in 3D 902

Using Other Solid Modeling Tools 902

Using Mesh Modeling Tools 906

Using Surface Modeling Tools 907

If You Would Like More Practice 909

Are You Experienced? 910

Chapter 17 Rendering and Materials 911

Creating Cameras to Reproduce Views 912

Using the Loft Tool 912

Creating the Cameras 917

Creating a Lighting Scheme 922

Creating a Light Source 922

Enabling Shadows 926

Creating the First Render 927

Controlling the Background of the Rendering 930

Adding Materials 933

Adjusting the Material Mapping 939

Rendering to a File 943

If You Would Like More Practice 947

Are You Experienced? 947

Index 949