Discovering AutoCAD 2020

MARK DIX first worked with AutoCAD as a programmer in 1985. The following year he began collaborating with Paul Riley to create AutoCAD training material, combining Paul’s background in industrial design with his own background in writing and curriculum development. Mark received the M.A.T. from Cornell University and the M.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts. PAUL RILEY was an early advocate for exposing students to the advantages of learning AutoCAD for career advancement. Paul holds a B.S. in Education and an M.S. in Computer Technology with a career that has included teaching at public high school, private college, public university, and technology companies in the Boston area.

PART ONE:  BASIC TWO-DIMENSIONAL ENTITIES
Chapter 1  Lines and Essential Tools     1
Introduction     1
Creating a New Drawing     2
Exploring the Drawing Window     5
Interacting with the Drawing Window     7
Exploring Command Entry Methods     13
Drawing, Undoing, and Erasing Lines     19
Saving and Opening Your Drawings     30
Getting Started     32
Chapter Summary     36
Chapter Test Questions     36
Chapter Drawing Projects     38
Chapter 2  Circles and Drawing Aids     51
Introduction     51
Changing the Grid Setting     52
Changing the Snap Setting     53
Changing Units     55
Drawing Circles by Specifying a Center Point and a Radius     58
Drawing Circles by Specifying a Center Point and a Diameter     60
Accessing AutoCAD Online Help Features     63
Using the ERASE Command     65
Using Single-Point Object Snap     72
Using the RECTANG Command     74
Customizing Your Workspace     76
Plotting or Printing a Drawing     78
Chapter Summary     82
Chapter Test Questions     82
Chapter Drawing Projects     84
Chapter 3  Layers, Colors, and Linetypes     97
Introduction     97
Creating New Layers     98
Assigning Colors to Layers     100
Assigning Linetypes     102
Assigning Lineweights     103
Changing the Current Layer     105
Changing Linetype Scale     107
Editing Corners Using FILLET     108
Editing Corners Using CHAMFER     110
Zooming and Panning with the Scroll Wheel     111
Using the ZOOM Command     113
Entering Single-Line Text     115
Chapter Summary     117
Chapter Test Questions     117
Chapter Drawing Projects     120
Chapter 4  Templates, Copies, and Arrays     133
Introduction     133
Setting Limits     134
Creating a Template     137
Saving a Template Drawing     138
Using the MOVE Command     140
Using the COPY Command     144
Using the ARRAY Command–Rectangular Arrays     147
Creating Center Marks     153
Changing Plot Settings     154
Chapter Summary     158
Chapter Test Questions     158
Chapter Drawing Projects     162
Chapter 5  Arcs and Polar Arrays     177
Introduction     177
Creating Polar Arrays     177
Drawing Arcs     181
Using the ROTATE Command     185
Using Polar Tracking at Any Angle     188
Creating Mirror Images of Objects on the Screen     189
Creating Page Setups     192
Chapter Summary     197
Chapter Test Questions     197
Chapter Drawing Projects     200
Chapter 6  Object Snap     213
Introduction     213
Selecting Points with Object Snap (Single-Point Override)     214
Selecting Points with Running Object Snap     215
Object Snap Tracking     219
Using the OFFSET Command (Creating Parallel Objects with OFFSET)     223
Shortening Objects with the TRIM Command     224
Extending Objects with the EXTEND Command     226
Using STRETCH to Alter Objects Connected to Other Objects     228
Creating Plot Layouts     232
Chapter Summary     242
Chapter Test Questions     242
Chapter Drawing Projects     244

PART TWO:  TEXT, DIMENSIONS, AND OTHER COMPLEX ENTITIES
Chapter 7  Text     259
Introduction     259
Entering Single-Line Text with Justification Options     259
Entering Text on an Angle and Text
Using Character Codes     264
Entering Multiline Text Using MTEXT     265
Editing Text in Place with TEXTEDIT     268
Modifying Text with the Quick Properties Palette     270
Using the SPELL Command     273
Changing Fonts and Styles     274
Changing Properties with MATCHPROP     278
Scaling Previously Drawn Entities     280
Creating Tables and Fields     283
Using AutoCAD Templates, Borders, and Title Blocks     289
Chapter Summary     292
Chapter Test Questions     292
Chapter Drawing Projects     294
Chapter 8  Dimensions     307
Introduction     307
Creating and Saving a Dimension Style     307
Drawing Linear Dimensions     312
Drawing Multiple Linear Dimensions Using QDIM     316
Drawing Ordinate Dimensions     319
Drawing Angular Dimensions     324
Dimensioning Arcs and Circles     326
Dimensioning with Multileaders     328
Changing Dimension Text     335
Using Associative Dimensions     337
Using the HATCH Command     340
Scaling Dimensions Between Paper Space and Model Space     344
Chapter Summary     353
Chapter Test Questions     353
Chapter Drawing Projects     356
Chapter 9  Polylines     373
Introduction     373
Drawing Polygons     374
Drawing Donuts     376
Using the FILL Command     377
Drawing Straight Polyline Segments     378
Drawing Polyline Arc Segments     381
Editing Polylines with PEDIT     382
Drawing Splines     384
Creating Path Arrays     387
Drawing Revision Clouds     388
Drawing Points     390
Using Constraint Parameters     392
Using AutoConstrain and Inferred Constraints     398
Chapter Summary     401
Chapter Test Questions     401
Chapter Drawing Projects     404
Chapter 10  Blocks, Attributes, and External References     419
Introduction     419
Creating Groups     420
Creating Blocks     422
Inserting Blocks into the Current Drawing     425
Creating Dynamic Blocks     428
Adding Constraints to Dynamic Blocks     436
Accessing Data in a Block Table     439
Using the Windows Clipboard     443
Inserting Blocks and External References into Other Drawings     445
Using the AutoCAD DesignCenter     449
Defining Attributes     455
Working with External References     461
Extracting Data from Attributes     463
Creating Tool Palettes     467
Exploding Blocks     468
Chapter Summary     470
Chapter Test Questions     470
Chapter Drawing Projects     474

PART THREE:  ISOMETRIC DRAWING AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELING
Chapter 11  Isometric Drawing     485
Introduction     485
Using Isometric Snap     485
Switching Isometric Planes     487
Using COPY and Other Edit Commands     488
Drawing Isometric Circles with ELLIPSE     490
Drawing Text Aligned with Isometric Planes     492
Drawing Ellipses in Orthographic Views     494
Saving and Restoring Displays with VIEW     497
Chapter Summary     501
Chapter Test Questions     501
Chapter Drawing Projects     504
Chapter 12  3D Modeling     519
Introduction     519
Creating and Viewing a 3D Wireframe Box     520
Defining User Coordinate Systems     525
Exploring the 3D Basics Workspace     530
Creating Solid Boxes and Wedges     532
Accessing Different Visual Styles     535
Creating the Union of Two Solids     536
Working with DUCS     537
Creating Composite Solids with SUBTRACT     539
Creating Chamfers and Fillets on Solid Objects     543
Practicing 3D Gizmo Editing     546
Rendering Solid Models     548
Changing Viewpoints with the ViewCube     562
Creating Layouts with Multiple Views     564
Chapter Summary     568
Chapter Test Questions     568
Chapter Drawing Projects     572
Chapter 13  More Modeling Techniques and Commands     581
Introduction     581
Drawing Polysolids     581
Drawing Cones     586
Drawing Pyramids     588
Drawing Torus     589
Slicing and Sectioning Solids     590
Mesh Modeling     595
Adjusting Viewpoints with 3DORBIT     605
Creating 3D Solids from 2D Outlines     612
Walking Through a 3D Landscape     618
Creating an Animated Walk-Through     621
Chapter Summary     625
Chapter Test Questions     625
Chapter Drawing Projects     628
Appendix A  Drawing Projects     645
Appendix B  Creating Customized Panels     667
Appendix C  Menus, Macros, and the CUI Dialog Box     677
Index     681
Appendix D (Online only)  Additional Tools for Collaboration
Glossary (Online only)