Mastering AutoCAD 2016 and AutoCAD LT 2016 – E-BOOK

Mastering AutoCAD 2016 and AutoCAD LT 2016 – E-BOOK

What to Expect
Mastering AutoCAD 2016 and AutoCAD LT 2016 is divided into five parts, each representing a
milestone in your progress toward becoming an expert AutoCAD user. Here is a description of
those parts and what they will show you.
Part 1: The Basics
As with any major endeavor, you must begin by tackling small, manageable tasks. In this first
part, you’ll become familiar with the way that AutoCAD looks and feels.
♦♦ Chapter 1, “Exploring the Interface,” shows you how to get around in AutoCAD.
♦♦ Chapter 2, “Creating Your First Drawing,” details how to start and exit the program and
how to respond to AutoCAD commands.
♦♦ Chapter 3, “Setting Up and Using the Drafting Tools,” tells you how to set up a work area,
edit objects, and lay out a drawing.
♦♦ Chapter 4, “Organizing Objects with Blocks and Groups,” explores some tools unique
to CAD: symbols, blocks, and layers. As you’re introduced to AutoCAD, you’ll also get
a chance to make some drawings that you can use later in the book and perhaps even in
future projects of your own.
♦♦ Chapter 5, “Keeping Track of Layers and Blocks,” shows you how to use layers to keep
similar information together and object properties such as linetypes to organize things
visually.
Part 2: Mastering Intermediate Skills
After you have the basics down, you’ll begin to explore some of the more subtle qualities of
AutoCAD.
♦♦ Chapter 6, “Editing and Reusing Data to Work Efficiently,” tells you how to reuse drawing
setup information and parts of an existing drawing.
♦♦ Chapter 7, “Mastering Viewing Tools, Hatches, and External References,” details how to
use viewing tools and hatches and how to assemble and edit a large drawing file.
♦♦ Chapter 8, “Introducing Printing, Plotting, and Layouts,” shows you how to get your drawing
onto hard copy.
♦♦ Chapter 9, “Adding Text to Drawings,” tells you how to annotate your drawing and edit
your notes.
♦♦ Chapter 10, “Using Fields and Tables,” shows you how to add spreadsheet functionality to
your drawings.
♦♦ Chapter 11, “Using Dimensions,” gives you practice in using automatic dimensioning
(another unique CAD capability).