AutoCAD 2013 For Dummies (eBook)

David Byrnes is a structural and civil drafter for a major international engineering company. Bill Fane is a retired professional engineer and Autodesk Authorized Training Center (ATC) certified instructor.

Introduction 1

Part I: AutoCAD 101 11

Chapter 1: Introducing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 13

Chapter 2: Le Tour de AutoCAD 2013 23

Chapter 3: A Lap around the CAD Track 55

Chapter 4: Setup for Success 85

Chapter 5: Planning for Paper 109

Part II: Let There Be Lines 123

Chapter 6: Manage Your Properties 125

Chapter 7: Preciseliness Is Next to CADliness 147

Chapter 8: Along the Straight and Narrow 163

Chapter 9: Dangerous Curves Ahead 177

Chapter 10: Get a Grip on Object Selection 193

Chapter 11: Edit for Credit 215

Chapter 12: A Zoom with a View 243

Part III: If Drawings Could Talk 261

Chapter 13: Text with Character 263

Chapter 14: Entering New Dimensions 297

Chapter 15: Down the Hatch! 323

Chapter 16: The Plot Thickens 337

Part IV: Advancing with AutoCAD 367

Chapter 17: The ABCs of Blocks 369

Chapter 18: Everything from Arrays to Xrefs 387

Chapter 19: Call the Parametrics! 421

Chapter 20: Drawing on the Internet 449

Part V: On a 3D Spree 469

Chapter 21: It's a 3D World After All 471

Chapter 22: From Drawings to Models 491

Chapter 23: On a Render Bender 515

Part VI: The Part of Tens 537

Chapter 24: Ten Great AutoCAD Resources 539

Chapter 25: Ten (Or So) Differences between AutoCAD and AutoCAD
LT 543

Chapter 26: Ten System Variables to Make Your Life Easier
547

Index 553