Chapter 1 AL Getting to Know AutoCAD Opening either AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT for the very first time can be RI GH TE D MA TE RI an intimidating experience. Faced with such an expansive collection of tools, settings, and more, where is one to start? To help you answer that question, this chapter will break down the many components of the user interface into manageable segments and introduce you to basic operations such as opening drawings.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD 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 2011 ➢ AutoCAD 2011 or by choosing Start ➢ Programs ➢ Autodesk ➢ AutoCAD LT 2011 ➢ AutoCAD LT 2011, depending on your program. (This command path might vary depending on the Windows operating system and scheme you are using.
Starting AutoCAD F i g u r e 1 . 1 The Welcome Screen featuring videos and links to help you get started with AutoCAD After exploring the Welcome Screen, you may prefer to disable it from automatically loading each time you start the software. This can be done by deselecting the check box labeled Show This Dialog At Startup in the lower-left corner of the Welcome Screen.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD F i g u r e 1 . 2 The New Features Workshop dialog box The Customer Involvement Program AutoCAD 2011 is among a large number of Autodesk products that provide the opportunity to participate in a 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 your needs.
Starting AutoCAD 5 F i g u r e 1 . 3 The Customer Involvement Program dialog box Many of these parts remain unchanged regardless of how the software is configured, whereas other elements may not always be viewable. We’ll discuss how AutoCAD chooses to configure the user interface shortly. At this point, however, your graphics window should look similar to Figure 1.4.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD Application Menu Quick Access Toolbar Ribbon Tabs Ribbon Panel Ribbon View Cube Navigation Bar Cursor UCS Icon Command Prompt InfoCenter Command Window Coordinate Readout Status Bar F i g u r e 1 .
Starting AutoCAD View Cube Cursor UCS Icon Materials Browser Palette F i g u r e 1 . 5 The AutoCAD Application window using the 3D Modeling workspace If your screen looks like Figure 1.5 or isn’t at all like Figure 1.4, you need to make a few changes: 1. Click the Workspace drop-down from the Quick Access toolbar, and choose 2D Drafting & Annotation, as shown in Figure 1.6. Alternatively, command-line users can enter: WSCURRENT↵ 2d drafting & annotation↵. F i g u r e 1 .
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD 8 might have different palettes displayed than those shown in Figure 1.7. If other palettes are still visible, click the X in the upper-right or upperleft corner of each palette to close them. F i g u r e 1 . 7 The tool palettes 3. The large area in the middle of the screen is called the drawing area. It might need to be adjusted.
Introducing the AutoCAD Application Window If the drawing area looks like a sheet of graph paper, it means the grid, a drawing aid that you’ll look at later, is turned on. F i g u r e 1 . 9 Selecting the Top option from the Views Ribbon panel 5. Move the cursor to the left side of the status bar at the bottom of the screen, and click the Grid Display button so it’s in the Off (unpushed with a gray, not blue background) position and the gridlines disappear.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD 10 Application Menu Button Quick Access Toolbar Communincation Center Program and Drawing Title Subscription Center Favorites Help Button InfoCenter Ribbon The title bar and menu bar at the top of the AutoCAD LT screen are identical to those in AutoCAD except that AutoCAD LT appears in the title bar rather than AutoCAD. F i g u r e 1 .
Introducing the AutoCAD Application Window 11 Notice the little box at the intersection of the two crosshair lines. This is one of several forms of the AutoCAD cursor, known in this form as the Aperture. When you move the cursor off the drawing area, it changes to the standard Windows pointing arrow. As you begin using commands, it will take on other forms, depending on which step of a command you’re performing.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD Below the command window is the status bar (see Figure 1.13). F i g u r e 1 . 1 3 The left side of the status bar (top) and the right side of the status bar (bottom) On the left end of the status bar, you’ll see a coordinate readout window. In the middle are 14 buttons (LT has only 11) that activate various drawing modes.
Introducing the AutoCAD Application Window Dynamic UCS UCS stands for User Coordinate System, and Dynamic UCS is used in 3D drawings. Dynamic Input When enabled, displays much of the command interface near the cursor (in addition to the command line itself). Show/Hide Lineweight Toggles the display of lineweights (discussed in Chapter 14, “Using Layouts to Set Up a Print”) in the drawing area. Show/Hide Transparency Many objects, including layers, can be assigned a transparency value.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD screen. You might have scroll bars below and to the right of the drawing area; although they can be useful, they can also take up precious space in the drawing area. They won’t be of any use while working your way through this book, so you can remove them for now. These features can be removed temporarily from the OPTIONS command. The following steps will show you how: 1.
Introducing the AutoCAD Application Window 15 F i g u r e 1 . 1 5 The Options dialog box F i g u r e 1 . 1 6 The Options dialog box opened at the Display tab Another display setting that you might want to change at this point controls the color of the cursor and the drawing area background. If you want to change the colors, follow these steps: 1. In the Window Elements area of the Display tab, click the Colors button to open the Drawing Window Colors dialog box (see Figure 1.17).
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD 16 In the upper-left corner of the dialog box, in the Context list box, 2D Model Space should be selected. If it’s not, select it. T he screen-captured images in this book are taken from AutoCAD sessions using the Dark color scheme. You can set the Color Scheme at the top of the Window Elements area and choose either Light or Dark. N O T E 2. Move to the Color drop-down list, which is in the upper-right corner.
Working in the Command Window side for LT), and move the slider to change the Crosshair Size setting. The crosshair length changes as a percentage of the drawing area. 5. Click OK to apply any remaining changes, and close the Options dialog box. T I P I f you choose a color other than black as the drawing area background color, the color of the crosshair cursor remains the same as it was.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD F i g u r e 1 . 1 8 Resizing the command window Before you begin to draw in the next chapter, take a close look at the Ribbon, Application menu, toolbars, and keyboard controls. You can start AutoCAD commands in a number of ways: from the Ribbon, the Application menu, the command window, and the menus that appear when you right-click.
Using the Ribbon Ribbon Tabs Large Tool Icon (Button) Panel Collapsed Ribbon Panel F i g u r e 1 . 1 9 The Ribbon fully displaying all panels (top) and with partially and completely collapsed panels (bottom) Ribbon Panels Similar tools are grouped together into a series of Ribbon panels. For instance the Move, Erase, and Rotate tools modify objects. Consequently, each of these tools is found on the Modify Ribbon panel.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD Displaying the Ribbon Tools The Ribbon’s default location is at the top of the screen, but it can be moved or docked almost anywhere on your screen. Individual panels have a number of display options built into them as well. In the following exercises, you will have the chance to explore many of these display options. Collapsing, Moving, and Hiding the Ribbon Available drawing area is always at a premium, and you can regain some of it by collapsing the Ribbon.
Using the Ribbon F i g u r e 1 . 2 1 Undocking the Ribbon If you don’t want the Ribbon at all, you can turn it off by right-clicking to the right of the Ribbon tabs and choosing Close. To turn it on, enter RIBBON↵. You’ll use the Ribbon throughout this book, so be sure to keep it on for now. F i g u r e 1 . 2 2 The Ribbon undocked from the top of the drawing area Using the Ribbon Tools Each panel contains tools from a related family of functions.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD exposes the additional tools. Follow these steps to learn how the Ribbon tools work and how they display information. 1. Click the Home tab on the Ribbon to expose the Home tab’s panels (see the top of Figure 1.19 shown earlier). 2. Move your cursor over the Modify panel, and pause the cursor over the Bring To Front tool button. This exposes the button’s tooltip, as shown at the top of Figure 1.23.
Using the Ribbon 5. Click the Modify panel’s title bar to expand the panel and expose all of the Modify tools. 6. Often, you may find yourself returning to the same tool on an expanded Ribbon panel. When that happens, you can pin the panel open by clicking the pushpin-shaped button in the bottom-left corner. When the panel is pinned open, it remains open even when the cursor is not hovering over it (see Figure 1.25). 7.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD ways to customize the Ribbon, and the overall user interface. One of the easiest ways to custom tailor the user interface to the way you plan to use AutoCAD is with the Initial Setup Dialog box. The Initial Setup Dialog Box To access the Initial Setup dialog box, select the Application Menu button (the big A icon in the upper-left corner of the screen), and then select Options.
Using the Application Menu 25 changes and close Initial Setup. To ensure AutoCAD looks and performs as shown in this book, choose Discard changes and close Initial Setup. Using the Initial Setup Dialog box is just one way to customize the look and feel of AutoCAD. More advanced features such as the Customize User Interface (CUI command) allow you to customize nearly every element of the user interface.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD F i g u r e 1 . 2 8 The Application menu showing the Print options Opening a Drawing with the Application Menu The Application menu offers a quick method for opening drawings. You can even see a thumbnail preview of the drawings and arrange drawings that you frequently edit so that they are easily accessible. Here’s how: 1. To open a new AutoCAD file from the Application menu, select New ➢ Drawing, as shown in Figure 1.29.
Using the Application Menu F i g u r e 1 . 3 0 Opening an existing drawing from the Application menu This opens the Select File dialog box, where you can navigate to the desired drawing file and select it. 3. To open a file that you’ve worked on recently, click the Recent Documents button at the top of the Application menu’s left pane. This displays the most recent files opened in AutoCAD in the right pane, as shown in Figure 1.31. F i g u r e 1 .
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD F i g u r e 1 . 3 2 Displaying a thumbnail of the selected file O pen i ng N e w Fi les You can open new or existing files using the QNew or Open button in the Quick Access toolbar. Existing drawings can also be opened by dragging them from a Windows Explorer window to the AutoCAD title bar. G e t t i ng t h e M ost o u t o f t h e R ec en t D ocum en ts L i st The Application menu offers many time-saving tips.
Using the Application Menu AutoCAD 2011 uses the AutoCAD 2010 drawing (DWG) file format. This means that the files created in AutoCAD 2011 are compatible only with AutoCAD 2010 and AutoCAD 2011. You can share drawings with releases earlier than AutoCAD 2010 by performing a simple conversion.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD F i g u r e 1 . 3 3 Displaying the open drawings in the Application menu 4. You can change the way AutoCAD displays the list of open drawings by clicking the icon near the top of the right pane and choosing one of four sizes of icons or thumbnail images to represent the open drawings. 5. Another option for switching between open drawings is to click the Quick View Drawings button in the status bar.
Using the Drop-Down Menus Classic workspace, clicking the down arrow at the right end of the Quick Access toolbar, and choosing Show Menu Bar (see Figure 1.35), or by entering MENUBAR↵ 1↵. This book will focus on the use of the Ribbon; the menus are covered here so that you’ll be familiar with them if you use them in the future. F i g u r e 1 . 3 5 Turning on the menu bar The left end of the menu bar, just below the title bar (see Figure 1.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD by menu, you can quickly find the command you want. Here are short descriptions of the other AutoCAD drop-down menus: View Contains tools for controlling the display of your drawing file. Insert Contains commands for placing drawings and images or parts of them inside other drawings. Format Contains commands for setting up the general parameters for a new drawing or changing the entities in a current drawing.
U s i n g t h e To o l b a r s F i g u r e 1 . 3 7 Selecting a toolbar to display Workspaces You haven’t been directed to make any significant changes to the workspace, but when you do, you can save this setup as a new workspace. Using this feature, you can always return to your preferred layout by activating the saved layout. Follow these steps: 1.
Chapter 1 • Getting to Know AutoCAD Using the Keyboard The keyboard is an important tool for entering data and commands. If you’re a good typist, you can gain speed in working with AutoCAD by learning how to enter commands from the keyboard. AutoCAD provides what are called alias commands — single keys or key combinations that start any of several frequently used commands. A good example of a command alias that ships with AutoCAD is the LINE command.
A r e Yo u E x p e r i e n c e d ? you release the middle button. The second function of the middle scroll wheel is to zoom in/out within your drawing. When scrolling toward the screen, you will zoom into your drawing. Conversely, when scrolling away from the screen, you will zoom out from your drawing. AutoCAD makes extensive use of toolbars and the right-click menu feature. This makes your mouse an important input tool.
