AutoSketch 10 Getting Started ® October 2008
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Contents Chapter 1 Installation . . . . . . . . Contents of the AutoSketch Package System Requirements . . . . . Install AutoSketch . . . . . . Register AutoSketch . . . . . . Repair AutoSketch . . . . . . Uninstall AutoSketch . . . . . Chapter 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Make the Transition from Paper to CAD Draw to Scale . . . . . . Organize Drawing Information Draw Efficiently . . . . . Draw Accurately . . . . . View Your Drawing . . . . Modify Your Drawing . . .
Chapter 3 iv | Contents . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Start AutoSketch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Use the Start Up Dialog Box to Create or Open a Drawing . Start a Drawing or Choose a Wizard (Wizard Tab) . Choose a Template (Template Tab) . . . . . . Open an Existing Drawing (Open Tab) . . . . . Understand the User Interface . . . . . . . . . Drawing Window. . . . . . . . . . . . All-In-One Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . Content Librarian . . . . . . . . . . . Edit Bar . . . . .
1 Installation This chapter tells you how to install AutoSketch®on In this chapter your computer. After you install the software, view the ■ Contents of the AutoSketch Package Readme (click Read Me on the Help menu). The Readme ■ System Requirements contains important information that was compiled after ■ Install AutoSketch this guide was printed.
Contents of the AutoSketch Package AutoSketch includes the following: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ AutoSketch disc AutoSketch Getting Started (this guide) Create and Trim Entities (online tutorial) Create a Birdhouse Drawing (online tutorial) Create and Office Layout Drawing (online tutorial) Advanced Exercises (online tutorial) System Requirements Before you install AutoSketch, make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements.
Install AutoSketch This section explains how to install AutoSketch on a stand-alone computer. To install AutoSketch 1 Insert the AutoSketch CD into your CD-ROM drive. 2 Follow the installation prompts that are displayed. If installation did not begin when you inserted the AutoSketch CD into your CD-ROM drive, Autorun may be turned off on your machine. To install AutoSketch if Autorun is turned off 1 Insert the AutoSketch CD into your CD-ROM drive. 2 On the Start menu (Windows), click Run.
Repair AutoSketch If you accidentally delete or alter files that are required by AutoSketch, it might not perform correctly. You can attempt to repair AutoSketch. To repair AutoSketch 1 In the Control Panel (Windows), start Add or Remove Programs. 2 In the Add or Remove Programs window, select AutoSketch Release 10, and then click Change. 3 In the Setup wizard, Application Maintenance page, select the Repair option, and then click Next. 4 On the Ready to Repair the Application page, click Finish.
Uninstall AutoSketch | 5
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Make the Transition from Paper to CAD 2 With your decision to use AutoSketch®, you have In this chapter entered the world of computer-aided design (CAD). ■ Draw to Scale AutoSketch makes your drawings more precise and you more productive than you have been using paper as your design format.
Draw to Scale Drawing scale is something you consider when laying out your drawing. You establish scale differently in CAD than you do with manual drafting. With manual drafting, you must determine the scale of a view before you start drawing. This scale compares the size of the actual object to the size of the object drawn on paper. Draw the object at full scale in the units you specify. In AutoSketch, drawings are created using the real-world values you specify.
Organize Drawing Information In both manual drafting and CAD, you need a way to organize your drawing content—a method for separating, sorting, and editing specific drawing data. With manual drafting, you can separate information onto individual transparent overlays. For example, a building plan might contain separate overlays for its structural, electrical, and plumbing components. In AutoSketch, layers are equivalent to transparent overlays.
Draw Efficiently Draw with less effort and revise with more speed: these are the two main reasons you use CAD. AutoSketch has a complete set of drawing and editing tools to help eliminate repetitive, time-consuming drafting tasks. If you work with paper and a drawing board, your set of drawing tools is likely to include pencils, scales, parallel rules, templates, and erasers. Repetitive drawing and editing tasks must be done manually.
Draw Accurately Engineering and architectural drawing require a high degree of accuracy. With CAD, you draft more accurately than with manual methods. Snaps allows you to draw with precision. On paper, you must draw objects carefully to ensure correct size and alignment. Objects drawn to scale must be manually verified and dimensioned. In AutoSketch, you can ensure exact dimensions by using several methods. The simplest method is to locate points by snapping to some interval of a grid.
View Your Drawing The power of CAD makes it easy for you to quickly view different parts of your design at different magnifications. When you draft on paper and need to work on another section, you must physically move to that area of your drawing. In CAD, the size and resolution of your computer monitor limit your viewing area. AutoSketch viewing methods bypass this limitation. To do detailed work, you can increase display size by zooming in. You can zoom out to display more of the drawing.
Modify Your Drawing Revisions are a part of any drawing project. Whether you work on paper or with CAD, you will need to modify your drawing in some way. On paper, you must manually erase and redraw to make revisions to your drawing. AutoSketch eliminates tedious manual editing by providing a wealth of editing tools. If you need to copy all or part of an entity, you don’t have to redraw it. If you need to remove an entity, you can erase it with a few clicks of the mouse.
Use Standard Symbols Symbols have long been used in manual drafting as a way to represent realworld objects in a simplified way. The ability to create and reuse standard symbols is one of CAD’s greatest strengths. With manual drafting, you might use a symbol template or printed stickers to draw repetitive landscape, architectural, mechanical, or electrical symbols. This method, however, limits the possible variations of a symbol.
Create Dimensions and Text Creating accurate dimensions and consistent, legible text is a time-consuming task for the manual drafter. CAD provides ways to streamline this task. When you work on paper, you typically draw to scale and then add dimensions and annotations. If you resize any part of the drawing, you must erase and then redraw the dimensions. Changing text can often involve relettering the whole drawing. AutoSketch automates the process of creating and changing dimensions and text.
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AutoSketch Basics 3 In this chapter, you learn how to start AutoSketch® and In this chapter use the Startup dialog box to create or open a drawing. ■ Introduction You also learn about the user interface and the basic features and functionality of AutoSketch.
Introduction AutoSketch is a precision drawing tool for the Microsoft® Windows®XP and Windows® Vista operating systems. The emphasis in AutoSketch is on speed, power, and ease of use. AutoSketch features appear when you need them, and are kept out of the way when you don’t. If you’re already a Windows Vista or Windows XP user, you’ll find the menu system and much of the user interface familiar. If you’re new to Windows, you’ll find AutoSketch an easy place to work.
Start a Drawing or Choose a Wizard (Wizard Tab) In the Start Up dialog box, Wizard tab, you can start a drawing immediately or choose a wizard to start a drawing. A wizard contains instructions to guide you through the steps to accomplish a task. The AutoSketch Start Up wizards help you make drawing decisions to set up a drawing. If you are drawing a workbench project, for example, the wizard steps you through logical workbench decisions for that drawing.
Start a Drawing Immediately. Creates a new drawing based on preset settings such as page size and scale. You can always change these settings later. Select this option, and then click OK. You are ready to begin drawing. The following choices on the tab are wizards: Create Precision Drawing. Creates a new drawing based on settings that you specify. You enter summary information (including drawing title, project name, and so on), drawing size and scale, units of measurement, and grid spacing Building.
Diagram. Sets up a diagram such as organizational tree, Web site map, flow chart/schedule, piping, electronic schematic, logic diagram, networking, or PC board layout. You choose the type of diagram, page orientation, and useful toolbars. You can add symbols such as flowcharts, schedules, piping, switches, capacitors, lamps, switchboxes, PCs, printers, mainframes, modems, circuit chips, soldering points, and so on. Mechanical Part. Sets up a drawing of a small machine or machine component.
Tip During an AutoSketch work session, you can access templates by clicking File ➤ New. Open an Existing Drawing (Open Tab) In the Start Up dialog box, Open tab, you can open an existing drawing file. You can adjust how files are displayed in the list, browse for more files, and preview a selected file. The following illustration shows the Open tab.
Tip During an AutoSketch work session, you can access existing drawings by clicking File ➤ Open. Understand the User Interface The first step in learning how to use AutoSketch is to become familiar with its user interface. Drawing Window Once you choose the type of drawing you want to create, AutoSketch opens a drawing window. The drawing window in AutoSketch is the space where you work. Many drawing windows can be open at one time. Clicking a drawing window makes it active so that you can work in it.
Content Librarian Title Bar Drawing Window Menu Bar Property Bar Edit Bar All-In-One Toolbar Status Bar Reference Grid Drawing Origin 24 | Chapter 3 Relative Coordinates Dial Absolute Coordinates Dial AutoSketch Basics
All-In-One Toolbar As its name suggests, the All-In-One toolbar contains buttons that help you perform most of the tasks that you need to do to create a drawing. Take a few moments to understand how this toolbar works before doing the exercises in this guide. Most of the buttons on the AutoSketch specialized toolbars can be found on the All-In-One Toolbar. For example, the All-In-One toolbar contains all of the 15 snap tools on the Snap toolbar.
All-In-One Toolbar buttons (continued) Toolbar button 26 | Chapter 3 Button name Description Line Draws lines and line variations. The Line toolset has these buttons: Line Single; Line Segment; Line Multiple; Line Double; Line Tangent; Line Perpendicular; Line Angle. Arc Draws circular arcs and elliptical arcs. The Arc toolset has these buttons: 3 Point Arc; 2 Points and Center Arc; 2 Points and Angle Arc; Elliptical Arc Rectangle; Elliptical Arc Axes. Circle Draws circles and ellipses.
All-In-One Toolbar buttons (continued) Toolbar button Button name Description Fill Creates hatches (a repetitive line pattern in an enclosed area defined by a selection set). The Fill toolset has these buttons: Fill Hatch; Fill Solid Color. Picture/Detail View Inserts bitmap pictures or detail views into the drawing. The Picture/Detail View toolset has these buttons: Picture From File; Detail View. Symbol Manages, creates, places, and duplicates symbols in a drawing.
Content Librarian Contains symbols, fill colors, and hatches that you can insert into a drawing. If a wizard was used to create a drawing, the Content Librarian provides symbol libraries specific to that wizard. The Content Librarian with the _DoorOffice symbol library displayed Edit Bar When active, allows you to edit geometric properties of an entity. The function of the edit bar changes depending on the task you are doing.
The menu bar Property Bar Sets the current layer, color, style, width, and pattern. Any change you make on the property bar affects entities that are currently selected, and those that you draw in the future. The property bar To change a setting on the property bar, click the small arrow to display the list of properties, and make a new selection. To apply a new setting to an entity, select the entity you want to change, and then click the property setting on the property bar.
Title Bar Displays the name of the program and the name of the current drawing file. The AutoSketch title bar extends across the top of the application window. The title bar Toolbars Provide buttons that allow you to do drawing tasks. (You can also use menus to perform the same tasks.) When a toolbar button has a triangle in its lowerright corner, you can click and hold the button to access additional items, called toolsets.
Example of detailed Help for a tool Basic Features and Functionality Before you use AutoSketch, there are important features and functionality that you should understand. Understanding the concepts in the following sections is the key to a successful experience of doing this book’s exercises. It is strongly recommended that you read this material carefully. Each concept is briefly defined here and described in detail afterward. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Entity.
Entities Entities are the fundamental elements of a drawing. They can be simple (base entities), such as a single line, arc, circle, or polyline, or they can be groups of drawing elements (compound entities), such as symbols and dimensions. Entities can also be other elements in your drawing, such as pictures or elements from other drawings. Most entities can be edited. You can resize them and change their properties. The following table lists the type of entities that you can create in AutoSketch.
Entity Description OLE Object An entity that is created in one application and embedded in another. When you double-click a linked OLE object, Windows opens the source application that created it and loads the associated file. Picture A picture or bitmap that can be imported and placed in the drawing. AutoSketch treats the raster image like most other entities, allowing you to move, scale, or duplicate the image as needed. Polygon A closed polyline that can contain a fill pattern.
Scale Drawing scale is the ratio between the actual size of the entities in a drawing and their size on printed output. In conventional drafting, you scale the components of a drawing by using an architectural or engineering scale. In AutoSketch, you simply enter the actual (world) size of an entity, and the software keeps track of the scale for you. You can create 1:1 drawings in AutoSketch without regard for scale. Specifying a drawing scale, however, has two important benefits.
Examples of coordinates Drawing Origin The drawing origin displays the x (horizontal), y (vertical), and (if isometric) z coordinates of a drawing. AutoSketch locates most points in relation to the drawing origin. The drawing origin is shown on screen as colored arrows. Example of the drawing origin arrows in the lower-left corner of a drawing If you move the drawing origin, the entire drawing shifts to reflect that change. The drawing origin does not appear when you print the drawing.
Reference Grid A reference grid is a visual drawing aid that contains a pattern of horizontal and vertical lines or dots that represent a grid. Use gridpoint snaps to make your drawing precise. Example of a first point snapping to a grid There are three types of reference grids available in AutoSketch, each suited for different purposes. ■ ■ ■ The default grid is rectangular, with snap intervals and lines that parallel the x- and y-axes.
Toolbar button Button name Description Isometric Left Aligns snap and grid lines along 90- and 150-degree axes. Isometric Right Aligns snap and grid lines along 90- and 30-degree axes. Double Grid Size Doubles the current grid size. Halve Grid Size Decreases the current grid size by half. Tip You can also change settings using the Edit Grid button on the Standard toolbar. Grid Origin The grid origin is similar to the drawing origin in function and appearance.
When snaps are active, a red AutoPoint Indicator is displayed on the grid. As you move the pointer over a drawing, each type of snap point displays a different symbol. (You may notice these snap types when you create simple entities in the first tutorial.) The following table lists the default snap types. Symbol Snap Type Description Gridpoint snap Snaps to the reference grid. Endpoint snap Snaps to the endpoint of an entity. Midpoint snap Snaps to the midpoint of a line, polyline segment, etc.
Appendix — Drawings Created with AutoSketch This appendix contains several drawings that were created with AutoSketch®. Study these drawings to get ideas for your own drawings, or just to see the power of the product.
Office – created using the Office Layout wizard
Jig – created using the Mechanical Part wizard
Test Site – created using the Diagram wizard
Tuner Diagram – created using the Diagram wizard
Utopia – Created using the Building wizard
Birdhouse – created using the Workbench wizard
Index A absolute coordinates Absolute Coordinates dial, 29 defined, 34 Absolute Coordinates dial defined, 29 activating buttons in toolsets, 25 drawing windows, 23 snaps, 38 active button, in toolset, 25 Add or Remove Programs window, 4 alignment with grids, 36 lock modifier and, 38 All-In-One toolbar, 25 illustration, 25 Arc toolset, 26 arcs, 32 AutoPoint Indicator, 38 Autorun feature, 3 AutoSketch features and functionality, 31 installation, 3 overview, 18 registering, 3 repairing installation, 4 startin
inserting symbols, 14 coordinates absolute coordinates, 34 Absolute Coordinates dial, 29 defined, 11, 34 drawing origin and, 35 grid origin and, 37 illustration, 35 isometric coordinates, 34 polar coordinates, 34 relative coordinates, 29, 34 Relative Coordinates dial, 29 xy (Cartesian) coordinates, 34 Create Precision Drawing wizard, 20 Curve toolset, 26 curves, 32 D deleting entities from drawings, 13 detail views, 12, 32 Diagram wizard, 21, 42 dials on status bar, 29 Dimension toolset, 26 dimensions accu
gridpoint snaps precision and, 36 symbol, 38 groups defined, 32 H Halve Grid Size button (Grid toolbar), 37 hard disks hardware requirements, 2 hardware requirements, 2 hatches in Content Librarian, 28 fills, defined, 32 Help, displaying, 30 horizontal alignment of entities, 38 I Inquire toolset, 27 inserting dimensions, 15 symbols, 14, 28 installing AutoSketch program, 3 Internet Explorer, 2 Intersection snap symbol, 38 intersections snapping to, 38 isometric coordinates, 34 Isometric Left button (Grid t
pictures, 33 piping wizards, 21 polar coordinates, 34 Polygon toolset, 26 polygons defined, 33 Polyline toolset, 26 polylines defined, 33 precision drawings AutoSketch and accuracy, 11 creating drawings, 20 snap feature and, 37 previewing templates, 21 printing drawing scale and, 34 properties defined, 33 types of, 33 property bar, 29 illustration, 29 R Rectangular button (Grid toolbar), 36 rectangular reference grid, 36 redefined symbols, updating, 14 reference grids defined, 36 grid origin, 37 illustrati
U W uninstalling AutoSketch, 4 updates changed symbols, 14 user interface All-In-One toolbar, 25 Content Librarian, 28 drawing windows, 23 edit bar, 28 elements (illustrated), 23 menu bar, 28 property bar, 29 status bar, 29 title bar, 30 tooltips, 30 utopia drawing, 44 Web browsers, 2 Web sites mapping wizards, 21 windows in AutoSketch defined, 12 drawing windows, 23 Wizard tab (Start Up dialog box), 19 wizards AutoSketch Product Registration wizard, 3 Building wizard, 20, 44 Create Precision Drawing wiz
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