Datasheet

Chapter 1 ✦ Starting to Draw

Starting AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT

This section starts a quick tour of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. The first step is to start the

program.

The CD-ROM contains a 30-day trial version of AutoCAD 2007 in Software\AutoCAD

2007\AutoCAD2007Trial.exe. You cannot install AutoCAD 2007 directly from the

CD-ROM. To install AutoCAD, you need to first copy the AutoCAD2007Trial.exe file to your

hard drive. Double-click the AutoCAD2007Trial.exe file. In the WinZip Self-Extractor dialog

box that opens, click the Unzip button to decompress the file. When this process is completed,

the installation process should automatically start; if not, double-click Setup.exe in the

folder to which you unzipped. You can order a free trial of AutoCAD LT 2007 (in the United

States and Canada) at http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=

123112&id=2768181.

This book covers AutoCAD 2007 and AutoCAD LT 2007 running on Windows 2000 or Windows

XP Home/Professional. Every computer is set up somewhat differently, so you may need to

adjust the following steps slightly. If you didn’t install the software yourself and are unfamiliar

with the folders (also called directories) on your computer, get help from someone who is

familiar with your computer system.

If you need information on installing AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT, see Appendix A. Appendix A

also covers configuring the software and printers or plotters.

By default, installing AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT places a shortcut on your desktop, as shown in

Figure 1-1. You can double-click one of the shortcuts to launch the program that is installed

on your machine, or you may choose one of the following:

✦ For AutoCAD: Start ➪ (All) Programs ➪ Autodesk ➪ AutoCAD 2007 ➪ AutoCAD 2007

✦ For AutoCAD LT: Start ➪ (All) Programs ➪ Autodesk ➪ AutoCAD LT 2007 ➪ AutoCAD

LT 2007

Figure 1-1: A shortcut on the desktop provides a quick way to open

AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT.

Creating a New Drawing

After you launch AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT, it automatically opens a new drawing named

Drawing1.dwg. You can see the drawing name on the title bar. You can start drawing immedi-

ately. In Chapter 2, I explain how to start a drawing based on a template and how to open an

existing drawing.

STEPS: Starting AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT

1. Click Start on the taskbar at the bottom of your screen.

2. Choose one of the following:

Cross-

Reference

On the

CD-ROM

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