Datasheet

6
CHAPTER 1 EXPLORING THE AUTOCAD AND AUTOCAD LT INTERFACE
The AutoCAD Window
The AutoCAD program window is divided into six parts:
◆
Menu bar
◆
Toolbars
◆ Drawing area
◆
Command window
◆
Status bar
◆
Dashboard
Figure 1.1, shown earlier in this chapter, shows a typical layout of the AutoCAD program win-
dow. Along the top is the menu bar, and just below that are the Workspaces and Standard Annotation
toolbars. At the bottom are the Command window and the status bar. To the right is the Dashboard. The
drawing area occupies the rest of the screen. AutoCAD calls the window layout a workspace ; you can
save and recall a workspace at any time using the Workspaces toolbar. The workspace in Figure 1.1
is called the 2D Drafting & Annotation workspace.
TIP
Your screen may show the drawing area in black. You can set the drawing area background
color by using the Options dialog box. Appendix A describes how to do this. The figures in this
book show the drawing area background in white for clarity.
Figure 1.2 shows AutoCAD’s 3D Modeling workspace, which has a different set of screen elements.
Figure 1.2 also shows a standard AutoCAD drawing file with a few setting changes to give it a 3D
appearance. Beneath these external changes, the underlying program is the same.
TIP
You’ll learn more about workspaces later in this chapter and in Chapter 26.
Figure 1.2
The 3D Modeling
workspace offers an
alternative arrange-
ment of the elements
in the AutoCAD
window.
3738x.book Page 6 Monday, June 25, 2007 11:37 PM