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Introducing AutoCAD

and AutoCAD LT

In This Chapter

▶ Getting the AutoCAD advantage

▶ Using AutoCAD and DWG files

▶ Meeting the AutoCAD product family

▶ Using AutoCAD LT instead of AutoCAD

▶ Finding out what’s new in 2012

aybe you’re one of the few remaining holdouts who continue to

practice the ancient art of manual drafting with pencil and

vellum. If so, I must tell you that you belong to a dwindling

breed. Or maybe you’re completely new to drafting and

yearn for the wealth and fame (would I lead you on?) of

the drafter’s life. Maybe you’re an engineer or archi-

tect who needs to catch up with the young CAD

hotshots in your office. Maybe you tried to use

AutoCAD a long time ago, but gave up in frustra-

tion or just got rusty. Or maybe you currently use

an older release, such as AutoCAD 2006 or even (if

you’re into antiques) AutoCAD 2000.

Whatever your current situation or motivation,

I hope that you enjoy the process of becoming

proficient with AutoCAD. Drawing with AutoCAD is

challenging at first, but it’s a challenge worth meeting.

AutoCAD rewards those who think creatively about their

work and look for ways to do it better. You can always find out

more, discover a new trick, or improve the efficiency and quality of

your drawing production.

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COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

Summary of content (10 pages)

PAGE 1
RI AL Introducing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT TE In This Chapter ▶ Using AutoCAD and DWG files ▶ Meeting the AutoCAD product family ▶ Using AutoCAD LT instead of AutoCAD TE D ▶ Finding out what’s new in 2012 MA ▶ Getting the AutoCAD advantage M CO PY RI GH aybe you’re one of the few remaining holdouts who continue to practice the ancient art of manual drafting with pencil and vellum. If so, I must tell you that you belong to a dwindling breed.
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12 Part I: AutoCAD 101 AutoCAD first hit the bricks in the early 1980s, around the same time as the first IBM PCs. It was offered for a bewildering variety of operating systems, including CP/M (ask your granddad about that one!), various flavors of Unix, and even Apple’s Macintosh. By far the most popular of those early versions was for MS-DOS (your dad can tell you about that one).
PAGE 3
Chapter 1: Introducing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Why AutoCAD? AutoCAD has been around a long time — since 1982, which I suspect, dear readers, is longer than some of you! AutoCAD ushered in the transition from really expensive mainframe and minicomputer CAD systems costing tens of thousands of dollars to merely somewhat expensive microcomputer CAD programs costing a few thousand dollars.
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14 Part I: AutoCAD 101 Figure 1-1: Cities, houses, little toy trains — what do you want to draw today? The Importance of Being DWG To take full advantage of AutoCAD in your work environment, you need to be aware of the DWG file format, the format in which AutoCAD saves drawings. Here are some DWG facts to keep in mind: ✓ In some cases, an older release of AutoCAD can’t open a DWG file that’s been saved by a newer AutoCAD release. ✓ A newer release of AutoCAD can always open files saved by older versions.
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Chapter 1: Introducing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Table 1-1 AutoCAD Versions and DWG File Formats AutoCAD Version AutoCAD LT Version Release Year DWG File Format AutoCAD 2012 AutoCAD LT 2012 2011 Acad 2010 AutoCAD 2011 AutoCAD LT 2011 2010 Acad 2010 AutoCAD 2010 AutoCAD LT 2010 2009 Acad 2010 AutoCAD 2009 AutoCAD LT 2009 2008 Acad 2007 AutoCAD 2008 AutoCAD LT 2008 2007 Acad 2007 AutoCAD 2007 AutoCAD LT 2007 2006 Acad 2007 AutoCAD 2006 AutoCAD LT 2006 2005 Acad 2004 AutoCAD 200
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16 Part I: AutoCAD 101 Seeing the LT AutoCAD LT is one of the best deals around, a shining example of the old 80/20 rule: roughly 80 percent of the capabilities of AutoCAD for roughly 20 percent of the money. (Actually, with recent price creep, it’s now more like a 70/30 rule.) Like AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT runs on mainstream Windows computers and doesn’t require any additional hardware devices.
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Chapter 1: Introducing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Checking System Requirements If you’re upgrading from AutoCAD 2011 or another recent release, and you work mostly or entirely in 2D, you’re probably already current with system requirements. In fact, if your work is mostly or entirely 2D — and therefore, this applies especially for LT users — AutoCAD 2012 will run fine on pretty well any computer that will run Windows 7, Vista, or XP.
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18 Part I: AutoCAD 101 www.autodesk.com and enter VBA installer in the Search box. There are 32- and 64-bit versions, so make sure you download the right one for your system. ✓ Computer system requirements: For AutoCAD 2012, Autodesk recommends a 1.6 GHz or better Intel or AMD processor with at least 2 GB of RAM if running in Windows XP, and a 3.0 GHz or better chip and 2 GB of RAM if running in Windows Vista or Windows 7. The recommended operating system is Windows 7 (64-bit).
PAGE 9
Chapter 1: Introducing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT AutoCAD 2012 once again has presents for both the 2D and the 3D crowds, in the new “in-canvas” viewport controls (not in AutoCAD LT), a selectable user coordinate system icon, a powerful Content Explorer feature, and the Inventor Fusion plug-in that helps you generate 2D drawing views from existing 3D models. (Note: Inventor Fusion is not included in AutoCAD LT, and I don’t have room to cover it in this book).
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20 Part I: AutoCAD 101 ✓ Delete duplicates: The OVERKILL command is another Express Tool that’s been moved to the core (and so is available to LT users). This command searches your drawing for objects drawn on top of other objects and (as its name suggests) deletes them. I cover this feature in Chapter 11. ✓ Fillets, chamfers, blends, and joins: FILLET and CHAMFER now include a preview that shows you the effect of changing a fillet radius or chamfer distance before you finish the command.