Datasheet

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CHAPTER 1 GETTING FAMILIAR WITH AUTOCAD
To start out, you'll take a look at the two different ways that AutoCAD displays a drawing. Then
for the rest of this chapter, you'll focus on the 2D drawing environment. After installing AutoCAD,
take the following steps:
1.
Choose Start  All Programs  Autodesk  AutoCAD 20072007  AutoCAD 2007. You can
also double-click the AutoCAD 2007 icon on your Windows Desktop. LT users will click
AutoCAD LT 2007 in place of AutoCAD 2007. If you have Windows XP set to the Classic
start menu, you will see Start  Programs instead of Start  All Programs.
The open greeting, called a splash screen, appears momentarily, then if this is a new instal-
lation, AutoCAD will display the Workspaces message box. This message box offers an
option to select either 3D Modeling or AutoCAD Classic. After the splash screen closes, you
see the AutoCAD window with a blank default document named Drawing1.dwg as shown
at the top of Figure 1.1. If this is a new installation, you will also see the New Features Work-
shop window. If this happens, select Maybe Later, then click OK.
2.
Select 3D Modeling and click OK to get a glimpse of AutoCAD's latest innovations.
NOTE
In some installations, you may see a Startup dialog box. If this happens to you, click Cancel,
and AutoCAD will display the blank default document.
3.
The default document appears to be an empty, gray 3D space. You also see a special tool pal-
ette called the Dashboard. This is a set of 3D modeling tools that let you easily create 3D
designs. You’ll get a closer look at these tools in Chapter 6 but to get familiar with AutoCAD,
you’ll switch to the “classic” AutoCAD display.
4.
In the upper-left corner of the AutoCAD window, you’ll see a drop-down list that shows 3D
Modeling.
5.
Click this drop-down list and select AutoCAD Classic. The window will change to look
more like the one shown in the bottom half of Figure 1.1. Notice that this list contains the
same two options found in the Workspaces message box at appears in step 1.
6.
The current default file, drawing1.dwg , is set up for 3D modeling, including a perspective
view. For this chapter, create a new file set of for 2D by choosing File  New. The Select Tem-
plate dialog box appears.
7.
Select acad.dwt from the list and click Open. A new file called drawing2.dwg appears.
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