AutoCAD 2016 and AutoCAD LT 2016 Essentials

About the Author Scott Onstott is a consultant, former university instructor, author, and independent video producer with more than 16 years of experience teaching and writing about design visualization software. He is the author of the three previous editions of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Essentials, Photoshop CS6 Essentials, Enhancing Architectural Drawings and Models with Photoshop, and five other software training books published by Sybex.

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 Getting Started 1

Sign In to Autodesk 360 on the Start Tab 1

Explore the AutoCAD 2016 for Windows User Interface 4

Set Drawing Units 12

Chapter 2 Gaining Basic Drawing Skills 15

Navigate 2D Drawings 15

Draw Lines and Rectangles 19

Cancel, Erase, and Undo 24

Use Coordinate Systems 25

Draw Circles, Arcs, and Polygons 31

Use Fillet and Chamfer 38

Chapter 3 Using Drawing Aids 41

Use Grid and Snap 41

Employ Ortho and Polar Tracking 45

Use PolarSnap 47

Select Running Object Snaps 49

Harness the From Snap 52

Apply Object Snap Tracking 53

Chapter 4 Editing Entities 57

Create Selection Sets 57

Use Move and Copy 64

Use Rotate and Scale 68

Work with Arrays 71

Use Trim and Extend 75

Use Lengthen and Stretch 76

Use Offset and Mirror 78

Edit with Grips 80

Chapter 5 Shaping Curves 83

Draw and Edit Curved Polylines 83

Draw Ellipses 89

Shape Splines 92

Blend Between Objects with Splines 99

Chapter 6 Controlling Object Visibility and Appearance 103

Change Object Properties 103

Set the Current Layer 107

Alter the Layer Assignments of Objects 110

Control Layer Visibility 114

Apply Linetype 119

Assign Properties by Object or by Layer 123

Manage Layer Properties 124

Isolate Objects 126

Chapter 7 Organizing Objects 129

Define Blocks 129

Insert Blocks 135

Edit Blocks 140

Redefine Blocks 146

Work with Groups 149

Chapter 8 Hatching and Gradients 153

Specify Hatch Areas 153

Associate Hatches with Boundaries 159

Hatch with Patterns 162

Hatch with Gradients 166

Chapter 9 Working with Blocks and Xrefs 171

Work with Global Blocks 171

Access Content Globally 180

Store Content on Tool Palettes 186

Reference External Drawings and Images 190

Chapter 10 Creating and Editing Text 195

Style Text 195

Write Lines of Text 197

Write and Format Paragraphs Using MTEXT 203

Edit Text 206

Chapter 11 Dimensioning 211

Style Dimensions 211

Add Dimensions 218

Edit Dimensions 226

Chapter 12 Keeping In Control with Constraints 231

Work with Geometric Constraints 231

Apply Dimensional Constraints 234

Constrain Objects Simultaneously with Geometry and Dimensions 238

Make Parametric Changes to Constrained Objects 241

Chapter 13 Working with Layouts and Annotative Objects 245

Create Annotative Styles and Objects 245

Create Layouts 251

Adjust Floating Viewports 255

Override Layer Properties in Layout Viewports 261

Draw on Layouts 263

Chapter 14 Printing and Plotting 267

Configure Output Devices 267

Create Plot Style Tables 271

Use Plot Style Tables 273

Plot in Model Space 279

Plot Layouts in Paper Space 283

Export to an Electronic Format 287

Chapter 15 Working with Data 291

Geolocate Projects 291

Import SketchUp Models 296

Define Attributes and Blocks 297

Insert Attributed Blocks 302

Edit Table Styles and Create Tables 304

Use Fields in Table Cells 309

Edit Table Data 312

Chapter 16 Navigating 3D Models 321

Use Visual Styles 321

Work with Tiled Viewports 326

Navigate with the ViewCube 328

Orbit in 3D 330

Use Cameras 332

Navigate with SteeringWheels 335

Save Views 338

Chapter 17 Modeling in 3D 341

Create Surface Models 341

Edit Surface Models 348

Create Solid Models 354

Edit Solid Models 360

Smooth Mesh Models 367

Live-Section Models 370

Chapter 18 Presenting and Documenting 3D Design 373

Assign Materials 374

Place and Adjust Lights 380

Create Renderings 387

Document Models with Drawings 391

Appendix Autodesk® AutoCAD 2016 Certification 397

Index 401