Introduction to AutoCAD 2024

Paul Richard has worked in the CAD/BIM field for more than 35 years, first starting as a CAD drafter/designer in 1985. Since then, he has worked in the AEC industry as a CAD manager, CAD instructor, author, and software developer. In his spare time, Paul likes riding and working on motorcycles.

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• Part One An Introduction to AutoCADChapter 1 Introduction to AutoCAD 1Chapter Objectives 1Introduction 1What Is CAD? 1Fundamental CAD Concepts 4Drawing Actual Size 4The Cartesian Coordinate System 5Right-Hand Rule 5Grid Units 6Angle Measurement 7Annotation Scale 8Object Properties 9Colors 10Linetypes 11Lineweights 12Transparency 13Controlling Object Properties 13Model Space and Paper Space 13AutoCAD File Types 14A First Look at AutoCAD 15The Start Tab 15File Tab Menu 17The AutoCAD User Interface 18Workspaces 20Quick Access Toolbar 20Application Menu 22Ribbon 24Tooltips 28The Command Line Window 29Dynamic Input 35Right-Click Shortcut Menus 37Accessing Recent Input 37Status Bar 38In-Canvas Viewport Control 40ViewCube 41Navigation Bar 42Dialog Boxes 43Palettes 43Keyboard Commands 47InfoCenter 49Getting Help 50Chapter Summary 52Chapter Test Questions 52Chapter 2 Quick Start Tutorial 55Chapter Objectives 55Introduction 55Creating a New Drawing 55Using a Template 56Saving Your Work 56File Safety Precautions 58Model Space and Layout Space 59The Layout Menu 60Viewports 60Communicating with AutoCAD 62The Command Line 62Dynamic Input 62Object Snaps, Ortho Mode, and Polar Tracking 65Undo/Redo 66Grid and Snap 67Draw a Circle 68Navigating Around the Drawing 69Zooming with a Wheel Mouse 71Object Properties 71Layers 73Freeze and Thaw a Layer 77Lock and Unlock a Layer 78Dimension Styles 79Dimensioning 83Modifying Drawing Objects 86Selection Sets 86Grip Editing 88Introduction to Advanced Editing Techniques 93Making Parallel Copies 93Fixing Overlapping Lines and Closing Gaps 94Cleaning Up Layout Space 96Setting the Viewport Scale 96Text 99Plotting and Page Setups 102Plotting 105Chapter Summary 107Chapter Test Questions 107Part Two Drafting Skills: Drawing with AutoCADChapter 3 Controlling the Drawing Display 111Chapter Objectives 111Introduction 111Zooming In and Out of a Drawing 111Zoom Tools 112Using the Mouse Wheel 117Panning Around a Drawing 118The Pan Tool 118Using the Middle Mouse Button 120Panning and Zooming Transparently 121Chapter Summary 123Chapter Test Questions 123Chapter Project 125Chapter 4 Basic Drawing Commands 127Chapter Objectives 127Introduction 127Drawing Setup 127Templates 128Units 128Setting the Drawing Area 131Drawing Lines 131Coordinate Entry Methods 132Cartesian Coordinates 132Absolute Versus Relative Coordinate Entry 134Polar Coordinates 135Dynamic Input 136Drawing Circles 137Center Radius 137Center Diameter 1382 Point Circle 1393 Point Circle 139Tangent Tangent Radius 140Drawing Arcs 141The ARC Command 1423 Point Arc 142Arc Options 142Using the ARC Command 143Drawing Ellipses 144Elliptical Arcs 146Points 147Point Styles 147Measure and Divide 149Chapter Summary 151Chapter Test Questions 151Chapter Projects 154Chapter 5 Drawing Tools and Drafting Settings 159Chapter Objectives 159Introduction 159Grid Mode 161Setting the Grid Style 162Setting the Grid Spacing 162Controlling Grid Mode Behavior 162Snap Mode 163Setting the Snap Spacing 163Setting the Snap Type and Style 164Ortho Mode 165Polar Tracking 166Setting the Polar Tracking Angle and Measurement Method 167Object Snaps 169Object Snap Modes 170Basic Object Snaps 172Advanced Object Snap Modes 181Object Snap Tracking 185Temporary Tracking 186Object Snap Tracking 187Intersecting Alignment Paths 187Dynamic Input 190Pointer Input 190Dimension Input 190Dynamic Prompts 191Dynamic Input Settings 191Using Construction Lines 194The XLINE Command 194The RAY Command 204Chapter Summary 205Chapter Test Questions 205Chapter Projects 208Chapter 6 Managing Object Properties 213Chapter Objectives 213Introduction 213Common Object Properties 213Layers 214The LAYER Command 214Layer Name List 215Deleting a Layer 227Layer Settings 228Using Layers 230Linetype Scale 231Hard-Coded Versus Soft-Coded Properties 232Setting the Default Object Properties 232Color Control and Management 233Linetype Control and Management 233Lineweight Control and Management 235Transparency Control and Management 235Changing the Properties of Objects 236The Properties Palette 236The Properties Panel 238Quick Properties 238Copying Properties Between Objects 240Creating Objects with Properties Based on Existing Objects 240Using DesignCenter to Import Layers 242Layer Filters 243The Filter Tree 244Property Filters 244Group Filters 246Search Filter 247Layer States Manager 247Object Visibility 249Chapter Summary 250Chapter Test Questions 250Chapter Projects 253Part Three Understanding Editing Techniques: Basics Through AdvancedChapter 7 Basic Editing Techniques 259Chapter Objectives 259Introduction 259The ERASE Command 261Selecting Objects for Editing 261Selecting Objects Individually 262Selecting Multiple Objects 265Advanced Selection Techniques 271Selecting Similar Objects 271Grouping Objects 272Moving Objects 274Copying Objects 277Mirroring Objects 279Mirroring Text 280Rotating Objects 281Rotating and Copying Objects 283Scaling Objects 284Scaling and Copying Objects 286Stretching Objects 287Selecting Objects First 290Using Grips to Edit 291Multifunctional Grips 291Controlling Grips 291Selecting Grips 292Grip Modes 293Chapter Summary 295Chapter Test Questions 295Chapter Projects 298Chapter 8 Advanced Editing Techniques 305Chapter Objectives 305Introduction 305Offsetting Objects 306Offsetting an Object a Specified Distance 306Offsetting Through a Point 306Offset Options 307Arraying Objects 308Creating a Rectangular Array 309Creating a Path Array 311Creating a Polar Array 313Trimming and Extending Objects 315Trimming Objects 315Extending Objects 318Creating Fillets and Chamfers 321Creating Fillets 321Capping Two Parallel Lines Using the Fillet Tool 323Creating Chamfers 325Breaking an Object 327Creating a Gap in an Object 327Breaking Circles, Xlines, and Rays 328Selecting the Second Points 328Break at Point 329Joining Multiple Objects 330Lengthening an Object 331The LENGTHEN Command Options 331Invalid Objects 332Chapter Summary 333Chapter Test Questions 333Chapter Projects 336Part Four Working with Complex ObjectsChapter 9 Drawing and Editing Complex Objects 343Chapter Objectives 343Introduction 343Drawing Polylines 344Drawing Polyline Arcs 346Drawing Polylines with a Width 351Drawing Rectangles 352Drawing Polygons 356Drawing Donuts 358Drawing Revision Clouds 359Changing the Arc Length 360Switching Styles 361Creating Revision Clouds from Existing Objects 361Editing Revision Clouds 361Editing Polylines 363Closing and Opening Polylines 363Joining Polylines 364Changing the Polyline Width 366Editing Polyline Vertices 366Converting Polylines into Smooth Curves 367Controlling Polyline Linetype Generation 369Reversing a Polyline 369Editing Polylines Using Grips 369Exploding Complex Objects 370Chapter Summary 371Chapter Test Questions 371Chapter Projects 374Chapter 10 Pattern Fills and Hatching 381Chapter Objectives 381Introduction 381Hatching 381Selecting a Hatch Area 382Controlling Hatch Settings and Options 384Gradient Fills 394Two-Color Gradient 394One-Color Gradient 395Gradient Pattern 395Editing Hatch Patterns 396Using the Hatch Editor Context Tab of the Ribbon 396Using the Hatch Edit Dialog Box 396Using the Properties Palette 397Trimming Hatches 397Exploding Hatches 398Using DesignCenter with Hatch Patterns 398Chapter Summary 400Chapter Test Questions 400Chapter Projects 403Part Five Annotating DrawingsChapter 11 Adding Text 407Chapter Objectives 407Introduction 407Controlling the Appearance of Text 408Fonts 409Text Height 410Annotation Scale 410Text Styles 411The Text Style Dialog Box 413Creating Multiline Text 417The In-Place Multiline Text Editor 420The Text Editor Context Tab of the Ribbon 423The Right-Click Menu 433Stacked Text 436Creating Single-Line Text 438The Right-Click Menu 440Single-Line Text Justification 441Inserting Special Symbols in Single-Line Text 443Text Fields 444Inserting Text Fields 446Editing Text Fields 448Editing Text 449Editing Text Content 449Editing Text Using the Properties Palette 450Text Alignment 452Scaling Text 452Changing Text Justification 453Finding and Replacing Text 454The Spell Checker 457The Combine Text Tool 461Chapter Summary 462Chapter Test Questions 462Chapter Projects 465Chapter 12 Working with Tables 471Chapter Objectives 471Introduction 471Creating Tables from Scratch 472Entering Table Data 474Creating Tables by Inserting a Data Link 475The Data Link Manager 475Managing Table Styles 476Modifying Tables 480The Right-Click Menu 481Modifying Table Cells 482The Table Cell Context Tab of the Ribbon 482The Right-Click Menu 482Inserting Formulas 485Chapter Summary 487Chapter Test Questions 487Chapter Projects 490Chapter 13 Dimensioning Drawings 493Chapter Objectives 493Introduction 493Dimension Tools 493Types of Dimensions 494Dimension Associativity 494Definition Points 495Dimension Layer 495Placing Dimensions 496The DIM Command 496Creating Horizontal and Vertical Dimensions 498Selecting Definition Points 498Selecting an Object 498The DIMLINEAR Options 499Creating Aligned Dimensions 502Dimensioning Circles and Arcs 503Radius Dimension 504Creating a Jogged Radius Dimension 504Diameter Dimension 505Dimensioning the Length of an Arc 506Creating Associative Center Marks and Centerlines 507Angular Dimensions 508Selecting Objects 509Selecting Vertex and Angle Endpoints 509The Quadrant Option 509Creating Datum and Chain Dimensions 510Continued Dimension 510Baseline Dimension 511DIMASSOC System Variable 512Dimension Tools 513The Adjust Space Tool 513The Break Tool 514The Jog Line Tool 515Quick Dimensioning 515Quick Dimension 515Managing Dimension Styles 518Creating a Dimension Style 519Modifying a Dimension Style 520Modifying Dimension Styles Versus Overriding Dimension Styles 532Comparing Dimension Styles 535Creating Leaders 536The Multileader Tool 536Creating Geometric Dimension and Tolerance Symbols (GD&T) 542GDT Font 543Inspection Dimensions 543Modifying Dimensions 545Grip Editing Dimensions 545Right-Click Shortcut Menu 546Modifying Dimension Text and Extension Lines 547Reassociating Dimensions 549Applying Dimension Styles 550Chapter Summary 554Chapter Test Questions 554Chapter Projects 557Part Six Outputting Your WorkChapter 14 Managing Paper Space Layouts 563Chapter Objectives 563Introduction 563Layout Paper Size 565Layout Viewport Scale 565Controlling Layers per Layout Viewport 566Setting Up a Layout 566The Page Setup Manager 566Creating Layout Viewports 575Making a Viewport Current 581Setting the Viewport Scale 582Locking the Viewport Display 586Controlling Layers per Layout Viewport 588Modifying Layout Viewports 589Turning Viewport Display Off and On 591Maximizing a Viewport 592Managing Layouts 594Creating a New Layout 595Renaming a Layout 597Moving or Copying a Layout 598Deleting a Layout 598Paper Space Linetype Scale 600Layout Tab 602Chapter Summary 603Chapter Test Questions 603Chapter Projects 606Chapter 15 Plotting and Publishing 611Chapter Objectives 611Introduction 611Page Setups and Plotting 611Previewing Your Plot 613Plotting from Model Space 613Plotting a Page Layout 616Default Plot Settings and Page Setups 618Plot Styles and Lineweights 619Plot Style Manager 620Color-Dependent Plot Styles 621Named Plot Styles 621Using Plot Styles 622Plot Options 623Plotter Setup 625Windows System Printers 625AutoCAD Printers 626Plotter Manager 626Plotting to a File 629Plotting a Set of Drawings 632Batch Plotting 632Working with DWF Files 636Autodesk Design Review 636Chapter Summary 639Chapter Test Questions 639Chapter Projects 642Part Seven Advanced Drawing and Construction MethodsChapter 16 Blocks and Block Attributes 645Chapter Objectives 645Introduction 645Creating Blocks 647The BLOCK Command 647Block Object Properties 650Inserting Blocks 652The Blocks Palette 653Nonuniformly Scaled Unit Blocks 656Exploding Blocks 658Inserting a Drawing File as a Block 658Using File Explorer to Insert a Drawing File 660Exporting Blocks 661The WBLOCK Command 662Block Attributes 664Creating Attributes 666Attribute Definition 666Updating and Editing Attributes 668Editing Attributes Individually 669Editing Attributes Globally 672Managing Attributes 672Extracting Attributes 678Extracting Attribute Data 679Updating Data Extraction Table Data Manually 687Updating Data Extraction Table Data Automatically 688Redefining Blocks 689Updating Blocks Created in the Current Drawing 689Updating Blocks Inserted from an External Drawing File 690Editing Blocks In-Place 690Redefining Blocks with Attributes 692Using DesignCenter to Manage Blocks 694The DesignCenter Window 694Tool Palettes and Dynamic Blocks 699Controlling Tool Palettes 699Tool Properties 702Adding Tools to Tool Palettes 704Introduction to Dynamic Blocks 705Chapter Summary 710Chapter Test Questions 711Chapter Projects 714Chapter 17 Working with External References 719Chapter Objectives 719Introduction 719The Reference Panel 720External References Palette 721Blocks Versus Xrefs 724Blocks 724Xrefs 725Nested Xrefs 725Attaching an Xref 726Attachment Versus Overlay 726Setting the Path Type 726Insertion Point, Scale, and Rotation 727Manage Xrefs Icon 727Layers and Xrefs 729Changing Xref Layers 729Managing Xrefs 730The Right-Click Menu 730Editing Xrefs 735Edit Reference In-Place 735Opening Xrefs 736Clipping an Xref 736Binding Parts of an Xref 738Demand Loading Xrefs 739Xref Compare 740Working with Raster Images 741Attaching Raster Images 741Managing Images 743Controlling Image Settings 743Working with DWF Underlays 745Attaching DWF Underlays 745Managing DWF Underlays 746Controlling DWF Underlay Settings 747DWF Layer Control 748Working with DGN Underlays 749Attaching DGN Underlays 749Managing DGN Underlays 750Controlling DGN Underlay Settings 750Working with PDF Underlays 751Attaching PDF Underlays 751Managing PDF Underlays 752Controlling PDF Underlay Settings 752Working with Point Cloud References 752Attaching Point Cloud References 752Controlling Point Cloud References 754Managing Point Cloud References 755Working with Coordination Model References 756Attaching Coordination Model References 756Controlling Coordination Model References 756Transmitting Drawings with References 757Using eTransmit 757Configuring the Transmittal 759Chapter Summary 763Chapter Test Questions 763Chapter Projects 766Chapter 18 Drawing Management Tools and Utilities 771Chapter Objectives 771Introduction 771Drawing File Backup and Recovery 772File Safety Precautions 772Recovering Lost or Corrupt Drawings 774Cleaning Up Drawing Files 776Working with Different CAD File Formats 779Exporting to DWF/PDF Files 779Importing PDF Files 782Importing and Exporting Other File Types 784Working with DXF Files 786DWG Convert Tool 788Object Linking and Embedding 790Object Linking Versus Object Embedding 790Inserting OLE Objects 790Editing OLE Objects 793Action Recorder 794Measure Tools 797QuickCalc Calculator 798Using QuickCalc 799Converting Units 801Calculator Variables 802Deleting Duplicate Objects 803Web-Based Collaboration Tools 804AutoCAD Web 805Shared Views 807Share Drawing 809Push to Autodesk Docs 810Traces 810Markup Import and Markup Assist 811DWG Compare 812Count Tool 814Chapter Summary 816Chapter Test Questions 816Appendix A Drafting Standards Overview 819Appendix B Command Reference 831Appendix C Command Aliases 861Appendix D System Variables 865Appendix E Express Tools 913Glossary 919 9780138232856 TOC 8/29/2023