Mastering AutoCAD 2017 and AutoCAD LT 2017

Mastering AutoCAD 2017 and AutoCAD LT 2017

by George Omura, Brian C. Benton
Released May 2016
Publisher(s): Sybex
ISBN: 9781119240051

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Book description

The bestselling guide to AutoCAD, updated and expanded with new video instruction

Mastering AutoCAD 2017 and AutoCAD LT 2017 is the premier guide to the world's leading CAD program. With clear explanation, focused examples, and step-by-step instruction, this guide walks you through everything you need to know to use AutoCAD 2017 and AutoCAD LT 2017 effectively. From basic drafting tools to 3D modeling, this book leaves no stone unturned in exploring the full repertoire of AutoCAD capabilities. Hands-on instruction allows for more productive learning, and over an hour's worth of video provides clarification of crucial techniques. Effective as both a complete tutorial and a dip-in reference, the broadly-applicable concepts and instructions will appeal to AutoCAD users across industries and abilities. This new edition has been thoroughly updated to align with the software's latest features and capabilities, giving you a one-stop resource for getting up to speed.

AutoCAD is the leading software for 2D and 3D technical drawings, and AutoCAD LT makes the software's tremendous functionality more accessible for smaller businesses and individuals. This guide shows you how to take full advantage of this powerful design platform, with expert guidance every step of the way.

  • Get acquainted with the interface and master basic tools
  • Utilize hatches, fields, cures, solid fills, dynamic blocks, and more
  • Explore 3D modeling and imaging for more holistic design
  • Customize the AutoCAD workflow to suit your needs

Whether you're learning AutoCAD for the first time, upgrading from a previous version, or preparing for a certification exam, you need a thorough reference designed for the way professionals work. Mastering AutoCAD 2017 and AutoCAD LT 2017 is your ideal guide, with complete tutorials, video instruction, and expert advice.

Table of contents

  1. Acknowledgments
  2. About the Authors
  3. Introduction
    1. How to Use This Book
    2. AutoCAD 2017 and AutoCAD LT 2017
    3. Getting Information Fast
    4. The Mastering Series
    5. What to Expect
    6. Where to Get the Exercise Files and Bonus Chapters
    7. The Minimum System Requirements
    8. Doing Things in Style
    9. New Features of AutoCAD 2017
    10. Contact the Authors
  4. Part 1: The Basics
    1. Chapter 1: Exploring the Interface
      1. Taking a Guided Tour
      2. Working with AutoCAD
      3. The Bottom Line
    2. Chapter 2: Creating Your First Drawing
      1. Getting to Know the Home Tab’s Draw and Modify Panels
      2. Starting Your First Drawing
      3. Specifying Exact Distances with Coordinates
      4. Interpreting the Cursor Modes and Understanding Prompts
      5. Selecting Objects
      6. Editing with Grips
      7. Understanding Dynamic Input
      8. Displaying Data in a Text Window
      9. Displaying the Properties of an Object
      10. Getting Help
      11. The Bottom Line
    3. Chapter 3: Setting Up and Using the Drafting Tools
      1. Setting Up a Work Area
      2. Exploring the Drawing Process
      3. Planning and Laying Out a Drawing
      4. Using the AutoCAD Modes as Drafting Tools
      5. The Bottom Line
    4. Chapter 4: Organizing Objects with Blocks and Groups
      1. Creating and Using a Symbol
      2. Modifying a Block
      3. Understanding the Annotation Scale
      4. Grouping Objects
      5. The Bottom Line
    5. Chapter 5: Keeping Track of Layers and Blocks
      1. Organizing Information with Layers
      2. Keeping Track of Blocks and Layers
      3. The Bottom Line
  5. Part 2: Mastering Intermediate Skills
    1. Chapter 6: Editing and Reusing Data to Work Efficiently
      1. Creating and Using Templates
      2. Copying an Object Multiple Times
      3. Developing Your Drawing
      4. Finding an Exact Distance Along a Curve
      5. Changing the Length of Objects
      6. Creating a New Drawing by Using Parts from Another Drawing
      7. The Bottom Line
    2. Chapter 7: Mastering Viewing Tools, Hatches, and External References
      1. Assembling the Parts
      2. Taking Control of the AutoCAD Display
      3. Using Hatch Patterns in Your Drawings
      4. Understanding the Boundary Hatch Options
      5. Using External References
      6. Editing Xrefs in Place
      7. The Bottom Line
    3. Chapter 8: Introducing Printing, Plotting, and Layouts
      1. Plotting the Plan
      2. Understanding the Plotter Settings
      3. Plotting Using Layout Views
      4. Adding an Output Device
      5. Storing a Page Setup
      6. Using Electronic Plots
      7. The Bottom Line
    4. Chapter 9: Adding Text to Drawings
      1. Preparing a Drawing for Text
      2. Setting the Annotation Scale and Adding Text
      3. Understanding the Text Style Dialog Box Options
      4. Exploring Text Formatting in AutoCAD
      5. What Do the Fonts Look Like?
      6. Adding Simple Single-Line Text Objects
      7. Using the Check Spelling Feature
      8. Substituting Fonts
      9. Finding and Replacing Text
      10. The Bottom Line
    5. Chapter 10: Using Fields and Tables
      1. Using Fields to Associate Text with Drawing Properties
      2. Adding Tables to Your Drawing
      3. Editing the Table Line Work
      4. Adding Formulas to Cells
      5. Importing and Exporting Tables
      6. Creating Table Styles
      7. The Bottom Line
    6. Chapter 11: Using Dimensions
      1. Understanding the Components of a Dimension
      2. Creating a Dimension Style
      3. Drawing Linear Dimensions
      4. Editing Dimensions
      5. Dimensioning Nonorthogonal Objects
      6. Using the Dimension Tool
      7. Adding a Note with a Leader Arrow
      8. Applying Ordinate Dimensions
      9. Adding Tolerance Notation
      10. The Bottom Line
  6. Part 3: Mastering Advanced Skills
    1. Chapter 12: Using Attributes
      1. Creating Attributes
      2. Editing Attributes
      3. Extracting and Exporting Attribute Information
      4. The Bottom Line
    2. Chapter 13: Copying Existing Drawings from Other Sources
      1. Methods for Converting Paper Drawings to AutoCAD Files
      2. Importing a Raster Image
      3. Working with a Raster Image
      4. Working with PDF Files
      5. Coordinating Geographic Locations
      6. The Bottom Line
    3. Chapter 14: Advanced Editing and Organizing
      1. Using External References
      2. Managing Layers
      3. Using Advanced Tools: Filter and Quick Select
      4. Using the QuickCalc Calculator
      5. The Bottom Line
    4. Chapter 15: Laying Out Your Printer Output
      1. Understanding Model Space and Paper Space
      2. Working with Paper Space Viewports
      3. Creating Odd-Shaped Viewports
      4. Understanding Lineweights, Linetypes, and Dimensions in Paper Space
      5. The Bottom Line
    5. Chapter 16: Making “Smart” Drawings with Parametric Tools
      1. Why Use Parametric Drawing Tools?
      2. Connecting Objects with Geometric Constraints
      3. Controlling Sizes with Dimensional Constraints
      4. Using Formulas to Control and Link Dimensions
      5. Editing the Constraint Options
      6. Putting Constraints to Use
      7. The Bottom Line
    6. Chapter 17: Using Dynamic Blocks
      1. Exploring the Block Editor
      2. Creating a Dynamic Block
      3. Using Constraints in Dynamic Blocks
      4. Adding a List of Predefined Options
      5. Creating Multiple Shapes in One Block
      6. Rotating Objects in Unison
      7. Filling In a Space Automatically with Objects
      8. Including Block Information with Data Extraction
      9. The Bottom Line
    7. Chapter 18: Drawing Curves
      1. Introducing Polylines
      2. Editing Polylines
      3. Creating a Polyline Spline Curve
      4. Using True Spline Curves
      5. Marking Divisions on Curves
      6. The Bottom Line
    8. Chapter 19: Getting and Exchanging Data from Drawings
      1. Finding the Area of Closed Boundaries
      2. Getting General Information
      3. Using the DXF File Format to Exchange CAD Data with Other Programs
      4. Using AutoCAD Drawings in Page Layout Programs
      5. Using OLE to Import Data
      6. The Bottom Line
  7. Part 4: 3D Modeling and Imaging
    1. Chapter 20: Creating 3D Drawings
      1. Getting to Know the 3D Modeling Workspace
      2. Drawing in 3D Using Solids
      3. Creating 3D Forms from 2D Shapes
      4. Isolating Coordinates with Point Filters
      5. Moving Around Your Model
      6. Getting a Visual Effect
      7. Turning a 3D View into a 2D AutoCAD Drawing
      8. Using the Point Cloud Feature
      9. The Bottom Line
    2. Chapter 21: Using Advanced 3D Features
      1. Setting Up AutoCAD for This Chapter
      2. Mastering the User Coordinate System
      3. Understanding the UCS Options
      4. Using Viewports to Aid in 3D Drawing
      5. Using the Array Tools
      6. Creating Complex 3D Surfaces
      7. Creating Spiral Forms
      8. Creating Surface Models
      9. Moving Objects in 3D Space
      10. The Bottom Line
    3. Chapter 22: Editing and Visualizing 3D Solids
      1. Understanding Solid Modeling
      2. Creating Solid Forms
      3. Creating Complex Solids
      4. Editing Solids
      5. Streamlining the 2D Drawing Process
      6. Visualizing Solids
      7. The Bottom Line
    4. Chapter 23: Exploring 3D Mesh and Surface Modeling
      1. Creating a Simple 3D Mesh
      2. Editing Faces and Edges
      3. Creating Mesh Surfaces
      4. Converting Meshes to Solids
      5. Understanding 3D Surfaces
      6. Editing Surfaces
      7. The Bottom Line
  8. Part 5: Customization and Integration
    1. Chapter 24: Customizing Toolbars, Menus, Linetypes, and Hatch Patterns
      1. Using Workspaces
      2. Customizing the User Interface
      3. Creating Macros in Tools and Menus
      4. Editing Keyboard Shortcuts
      5. Saving, Loading, and Unloading Your Customizations
      6. Understanding the DIESEL Macro Language
      7. Creating Custom Linetypes
      8. Creating Hatch Patterns
      9. The Bottom Line
    2. Chapter 25: Managing and Sharing Your Drawings
      1. Sharing Drawings Online
      2. Publishing Your Drawings
      3. Sharing Files with A360 Drive
      4. Adding Hyperlinks to Drawings
      5. Managing Your Drawings with DesignCenter and the Tool Palettes
      6. Establishing Office Standards
      7. Converting Multiple Layer Settings
      8. The Bottom Line
  9. Appendixes
    1. Appendix A: The Bottom Line
      1. Chapter 1: Exploring the Interface
      2. Chapter 2: Creating Your First Drawing
      3. Chapter 3: Setting Up and Using the Drafting Tools
      4. Chapter 4: Organizing Objects with Blocks and Groups
      5. Chapter 5: Keeping Track of Layers and Blocks
      6. Chapter 6: Editing and Reusing Data to Work Efficiently
      7. Chapter 7: Mastering Viewing Tools, Hatches and External References
      8. Chapter 8: Introducing Printing, Plotting, and Layouts
      9. Chapter 9: Adding Text to Drawings
      10. Chapter 10: Using Fields and Tables
      11. Chapter 11: Using Dimensions
      12. Chapter 12: Using Attributes
      13. Chapter 13: Copying Existing Drawings from Other Sources
      14. Chapter 14: Advanced Editing and Organizing
      15. Chapter 15: Laying Out Your Printer Output
      16. Chapter 16: Making “Smart” Drawings with Parametric Tools
      17. Chapter 17: Using Dynamic Blocks
      18. Chapter 18: Drawing Curves
      19. Chapter 19: Getting and Exchanging Data from Drawings
      20. Chapter 20: Creating 3D Drawings
      21. Chapter 21: Using Advanced 3D Features
      22. Chapter 22: Editing and Visualizing 3D Solids
      23. Chapter 23: Exploring 3D Mesh and Surface Modeling
      24. Chapter 24: Customizing Toolbars, Menus, Linetypes, and Hatch Patterns
      25. Chapter 25: Managing and Sharing Your Drawings
    2. Appendix B: Installing and Setting Up AutoCAD
      1. Before Installing AutoCAD
      2. Proceeding with the Installation
      3. Configuring AutoCAD
      4. Configuring the Tablet Menu Area
      5. Turning On the Noun/Verb Selection Method
      6. Turning On the Grips Feature
      7. Setting Up the Tracking Vector Feature
      8. Adjusting the AutoCAD 3D Graphics System
      9. Finding Folders That Contain AutoCAD Files
      10. Setting Up AutoCAD with a White Background
    3. Appendix C: The Autodesk AutoCAD 2017 Certification
  10. EULA

Product information

  • Title: Mastering AutoCAD 2017 and AutoCAD LT 2017
  • Author(s): George Omura, Brian C. Benton
  • Release date: May 2016
  • Publisher(s): Sybex
  • ISBN: 9781119240051