Datasheet

was for MS-DOS (your dad can tell you about that one). Eventually, Autodesk

settled on Microsoft Windows as the sole operating system for AutoCAD.

AutoCAD 2008 works with Windows Vista, Windows XP — Professional,

Home, and Tablet PC editions — and Windows 2000.

Because of AutoCAD’s MS-DOS heritage and its emphasis on efficiency for

production drafters, it’s not the easiest program to master, but it has gotten

easier and more consistent. AutoCAD is pretty well integrated into the

Windows environment now, but you still bump into some vestiges of its

MS-DOS legacy — especially the command line (that text area lurking at the

bottom of the AutoCAD screen — see Chapter 2 for details). But even the

command line — oops! command window — is kinder and gentler in AutoCAD

2008. This book guides you around the bumps and minimizes the bruises.

Why AutoCAD?

AutoCAD has been around a long time — since 1982. AutoCAD ushered in the

transition from really expensive mainframe and minicomputer CAD systems

costing tens of thousands of dollars to merely expensive microcomputer CAD

programs costing a few thousand dollars.

AutoCAD is, first and foremost, a program for creating technical drawings:

drawings in which measurements and precision are important because these

kinds of drawings often get used to build something. The drawings you create

with AutoCAD must adhere to standards established long ago for hand-drafted

drawings. The up-front investment to use AutoCAD is certainly more expen-

sive than the investment needed to use pencil and paper, and the learning

curve is much steeper, too. Why bother? The key reasons for using AutoCAD

rather than pencil and paper are

 Precision: Creating lines, circles, and other shapes of the exact dimen-

sions is easier with AutoCAD than with pencils.

 Modifiability: Drawings are much easier to modify on the computer

screen than on paper. CAD modifications are a lot cleaner, too.

 Efficiency: Creating many kinds of drawings is faster with a CAD

program — especially drawings that involve repetition, such as floor

plans in a multistory building. But that efficiency takes skill and prac-

tice. If you’re an accomplished pencil-and-paper drafter, don’t expect

CAD to be faster at first!

Figure 1-1 shows several kinds of drawings in AutoCAD 2008.

Part I: AutoCAD 101

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