Datasheet
Y
our introduction to AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT begins with a tour of the
user interfaces of the two programs. In this chapter, you’ll also learn how
to use some tools that help you control their 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. In general, LT
is a 2D program, so it doesn’t have most of the 3D features that come with Auto-
CAD, such as solids modeling and rendering. The AutoLISP programming lan-
guage found in AutoCAD is also absent from LT, as is the Action Recorder. The
other differences are minor. As mentioned in this book’s introduction, when I
say AutoCAD, I mean both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. I’ll also specifically refer to
AutoCAD LT as LT throughout this chapter and the rest of the book. Starting
AutoCAD is the first task at hand.
Starting AutoCAD
If you installed AutoCAD using the default settings for the location of the program
files, start the program by choosing Start
➣ Programs ➣ Autodesk ➣ AutoCAD
2009
➣ AutoCAD 2009 or by choosing Start ➣ Programs ➣ Autodesk ➣ AutoCAD
LT 2009
➣ AutoCAD LT 2009, depending on your program. (This command path
might vary depending on the Windows scheme you are using.) You can also find
and click the AutoCAD 2009 icon or the AutoCAD LT 2009 icon on your desktop.
Exploring the New Features Workshop
The New Features Workshop welcome screen opens when you first start Auto-
CAD and leads to several animated demonstrations and explanations of the new
features included in the latest release of AutoCAD (see Figure 1.1). This is a
quick and easy way to see how AutoCAD 2009 has improved over AutoCAD 2008
and which tools you can use to augment any skills you already have. Choosing
Maybe Later on the left side of the dialog box causes it to reappear every time
you start AutoCAD. Choosing the No, Don’t Show This To Me Again option dis-
misses the dialog box indefinitely. If you chose that option, you must then access
the New Features Workshop through the Help option in the Menu Browser, the
menu system that you access by clicking on the large red A in the top-left corner
of the AutoCAD user interface.
Selecting the Yes radio button on the left side of the dialog box opens the New
Features Workshop dialog box (see Figure 1.2). Here, you navigate and select the
feature you want to investigate in the left pane and observe the selection in the
right pane. The drop-down list in the upper-left corner provides access to the
New Features Workshops for other Autodesk products installed on your system.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD2
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