GH TE D MA TE RI AL CHAPTER 1 CO PY RI Getting to Know AutoCAD Opening a new drawing Getting familiar with the AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT graphics windows Modifying the display Displaying and arranging toolbars
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD our introduction to AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT begins with a tour of the user interface of the two programs. In this chapter, you’ll also learn how to use some tools that help you control the interface’s appearance and how to find and start commands. For the material covered in this chapter, the two applications are almost identical in appearance. Therefore, as you tour AutoCAD, I’ll point out any differences between AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT.
Starting AutoCAD F I G U R E 1 . 1 : The AutoCAD welcome screen provides access to the New Features Workshop. F I G U R E 1 .
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD The Customer Involvement Program Nearly all the latest releases of Autodesk products include the opportunity to participate in the customer involvement program (CIP). The CIP is designed to collect nonpersonal information about your Autodesk products and computer system to help the product programmers and developers design software that best meets their customers’ needs.
Starting AutoCAD Layers toolbar Title bar Menu bar Standard toolbar Workspaces toolbar Draw toolbar Properties toolbar Styles toolbar InfoCenter Communications Center Favorites Tool palettes Modify toolbar Drawing area User Coordinate System (UCS) icon Model and layout tabs Command window Status bar F I G U R E 1 . 3 : The AutoCAD graphics window using the AutoCAD Classic workspace F I G U R E 1 .
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD The toolbars on your screen might not be in the same places as they are shown here. Later in this chapter, you’ll see how to move the toolbars, display and place new toolbars, and suppress the toolbars. If your screen looks like Figure 1.4 or isn’t at all like Figure 1.3, you need to make a few changes: 1. Click the drop-down arrow in the Workspaces toolbar, and choose AutoCAD Classic. Alternately, you can choose Tools ➣ Workspaces ➣ AutoCAD Classic.
I n t ro d u c i n g t h e Au t o CA D G ra p h i c s Wi n d ow 3. The large area in the middle of the screen is called the drawing area. It might need adjusting. Choose View ➣ Visual Styles ➣ 2D Wireframe. 4. Choose View ➣ 3D Views ➣ Plan View ➣ World UCS. If dots appear in the drawing area, the grid is turned on. 7 LT users can skip step 3 and move on to step 4. 5. Move the cursor to the status bar at the bottom of the screen, and click the Grid readout button so it’s in the off (unpushed) position.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD Below the menus are the Standard and Styles toolbars. The Standard toolbar contains 25 commonly used command buttons (LT has only 23). Several of these buttons will be familiar to Windows users; the rest are AutoCAD commands. The Styles toolbar to the right defines the appearance of any new objects in the drawing. Just below these toolbars are the Workspaces, Layers, and Properties toolbars, which together contain six command buttons and six drop-down lists.
I n t ro d u c i n g t h e Au t o CA D G ra p h i c s Wi n d ow Below the drawing area is the Command window. When you enter commands, rather than using the menus or buttons, the Command window is where you tell the program what to do and where the program tells you what’s happening. It’s an important area, and you’ll need to learn how it works in detail. Two lines of text should be visible.
1 0 Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD F I G U R E 1 . 6 : The Options dialog box 2. Click the Display tab, which is shown in Figure 1.7. Focus on the Window Elements section. If scroll bars are visible on the lower and right edges of the drawing area, the Display Scroll Bars In Drawing Window check box will be selected. F I G U R E 1 .
I n t ro d u c i n g t h e Au t o CA D G ra p h i c s Wi n d ow 3. Click the check box to turn off the scroll bars. Also be sure the check box for Display Screen Menu is not selected. Don’t click the OK button yet. Another display setting that you might want to change at this point controls the color of the cursor and the drawing area background.
1 2 Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD LT doesn’t have the Screen menu, so the option to turn it off isn’t on LT’s Display tab. 4. Don’t close the Options dialog box yet. 5. If you want the lines of your crosshair cursor to extend completely across the screen, go to the lower-left corner of the Display tab (the lower-right corner for LT), and move the slider to change the Crosshair Size setting to 100. 6. Click OK to apply any remaining changes and close the Options dialog box.
Using the Drop-Down Menus status bar is in the on position, some of the information in the Command window will appear in the drawing area next to the cursor. I’ll cover this feature when you start drawing. Before you begin to draw, take a close look at the menus, toolbars, and keyboard controls. N O T E In many cases, you can start AutoCAD commands in a number of ways: from drop-down menus, from the toolbars, from the Command window, and from menus that appear when you right-click.
1 4 Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD Tools Contains special tools for use while you’re working on the current drawing, such as those for finding the length of a line or for running a special macro. Draw Contains commands for creating new objects (such as lines or circles) on the screen. Dimension Contains commands for dimensioning and annotating a drawing. Contains commands for changing existing objects in the drawing.
U s i n g t h e To o l b a r s 1 5 Accessing the Toolbar Fly-Out Menus Notice that one icon on the Standard toolbar has a little triangular arrow in the lower-right corner. This arrow indicates that clicking this icon displays more than one command. Follow these steps to see how this special icon works: 1. Move the cursor to the Standard toolbar, and point to the icon that has a magnifying glass with a rectangle in it. 2. Rest the arrow on the button for a moment without clicking.
1 6 Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD At the end of the top line of text is _all. This tells you that you have used the All option of the Zoom command. This fly-out menu is called the Zoom fly-out menu because it contains tools for changing views of the drawing, or “zooming around in the drawing.” 5. Look at the Standard toolbar where the Zoom Window button was previously. Notice that the Zoom All button has replaced it.
U s i n g t h e To o l b a r s F I G U R E 1 . 1 0 : The Toolbars menu 2. If you don’t see Zoom near the bottom of the list, you should have a down arrow there. Use it to scroll down, if necessary, and then click Zoom to display the Zoom toolbar in the form of a floating box in the drawing area. Notice that the Zoom toolbar now has a title bar. Toolbars that are positioned on the drawing area are called floating toolbars.
1 8 Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD F I G U R E 1 . 1 1 : Dragging the Zoom toolbar 4. Once the rectangle has changed shape, release the left mouse button. The rectangle changes to the Zoom toolbar, which is now positioned off the drawing area without its title bar. This procedure is called docking a toolbar. Notice how the Standard and other toolbars at the top of the drawing area have no title bars—they are docked.
U s i n g t h e To o l b a r s Hold down the left mouse button with the cursor on the right edge of the toolbar, and drag the arrow to the left until the rectangle changes shape. Release the mouse button. You can reshape and reposition each floating toolbar to fit on the drawing area just as you want it. You won’t need the Zoom toolbar just now, so you’ll remove it. 3. Move the cursor to the title bar, and click the box with an X in it to close the Zoom toolbar.
2 0 Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD F I G U R E 1 . 1 2 : The AutoCAD user interface with five toolbars docked on the top and left sides of the drawing area This arrangement of the toolbars will be convenient because you’ll often use commands on these five toolbars. When you need other toolbars temporarily, you can use the Toolbars menu to display them in the drawing area and let them float. If you have any other toolbars docked on the screen, use their grab bars to drag them onto the screen.
U s i n g t h e To o l b a r s Customizing Toolbars You can customize each toolbar, and you can build your own custom toolbars to display only the buttons you use frequently. You can even design your own buttons for commands that aren’t already represented by buttons on the toolbars. These activities are for more advanced users, however, and aren’t covered in this book. To find out more about how to customize toolbars, see Mastering AutoCAD 2008 and AutoCAD LT 2008 by George Omura (Wiley, 2007).
2 2 Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD F I G U R E 1 . 1 4 : The Workspaces menu 4. Close the Workspaces toolbar. When you make changes to the new workspace—by adding a toolbar or changing the background color of the drawing area—you can easily update the 2D Drawing workspace to accommodate those changes. Follow steps 1 and 2 previously, naming the workspace again to 2D Drawing.
Using the Mouse While working in AutoCAD, you’ll need to enter a lot of data, such as dimensions and construction notes; answer questions with “yes” or “no”; and use the arrow keys. You’ll use the keyboard constantly. It might help to get into the habit of keeping your left hand on the keyboard and your right hand on the mouse if you’re right-handed, or the other way around if you’re left-handed. Using the Mouse Your mouse most likely has two buttons and a scroll wheel.
2 4 Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD Are You Experienced? Now you can… 0 recognize the elements of the AutoCAD graphics window 0 understand how the Command window works and why it’s important 0 use drop-down menus 0 open and control the positioning of toolbars 0 save a workspace of your screen setup in AutoCAD
