Datasheet
4
CHAPTER 1
EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE
NOTE
AutoCAD 2008 is designed to run on Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista.
This book was written using AutoCAD 2008 on Windows XP Professional with a Windows Classic
desktop theme.
If you already installed AutoCAD and are ready to jump in and take a look, proceed with the
following steps to launch the program:
1.
Choose Start
All Programs
Autodesk
AutoCAD 2008
AutoCAD 2008. You can also
double-click the AutoCAD 2008 icon on your Windows Desktop. LT users will use
AutoCAD LT 2008 in place of AutoCAD 2008.
2.
The opening greeting, called a
splash screen,
tells you which version of AutoCAD you’re
using, to whom the program is registered, and the AutoCAD dealer’s name and phone num-
ber, should you need help. If this is the first time you’ve started AutoCAD after installing it,
you’ll also see a dialog box asking you to register the product.
3.
After the splash screen closes, you see the Workspace screen. (You won’t see this in LT.) This
screen allows you to select between the 2D drawing workspace called 2D Drafting & Annota-
tion and the 3D workspace called 3D Modeling. A third option called AutoCAD Classic offers
the 2D drawing workspace from earlier versions of AutoCAD. Workspaces are saved arrange-
ments of the AutoCAD window. You’ll explore the 3D Modeling workspace in Part 4.
4.
You may also see the New Features Workshop screen, which offers a set of tutorials showing
you the new features of AutoCAD 2008. Click the No, Don’t Show Me This Again or Maybe
Later radio button, and click OK. You can always get to the New Features Workshop screen
from the AutoCAD help menu by choosing Help
New Features Workshop.
5.
The AutoCAD window displays a blank default document named
Drawing1.dwg
, as shown in
Figure 1.1. AutoCAD users may see the Sheet Set Manager palette to the left of the AutoCAD
window, which doesn’t appear in Figure 1.1, to show more of the drawing area. LT users may
see the Info palette to the left of the AutoCAD window.
Figure 1.1
A typical arrangement
of the elements in the
AutoCAD window. The
Sheet Set Manager pal-
ette (or Info palette for
LT) is closed for clarity.
Command prompt Command Status bar Status bar tray
window
Menu bar
Workspaces toolbar Standard Annotation toolbar Communication Center Dashboard
UCS icon
Coordinate readout
3738x.book Page 4 Monday, June 25, 2007 11:37 PM