AutoCAD 2013 and AutoCAD LT 2013: No Experience Required

This step-by-step resource quickly helps you become proficient with all the essentials of Autodesk's powerful architectural design software. Gain skills and confidence as you complete each detailed, hands-on exercise and learn how to best use and apply AutoCAD's commands and capabilities. AutoCAD expert and "CAD Geek" blogger Donnie Gladfelter first guides you through the basics, including navigating the interface and creating your first drawings. You'll then move into more advanced features, such as grouping, elevations, and hatches, before diving into the 3D world. All of the drawing files can be downloaded from the book's companion website so you can jump in at any stage. If you want a hands-on, project-based guide that will help you rapidly harness the power of AutoCAD, this is the perfect book. Get familiar with the AutoCAD user interface and immediately start using basic commands Master all the new AutoCAD 2013 features, including Autodesk 360, which are clearly marked Develop strategies that will help you use drawing commands more efficiently Work with AutoCAD's major features, including blocks, hatches, and annotations Organize the various components of a drawing by applying the National CAD Standard Utilize Sheet Set Manager to manage and create document sets Set up a title block and layouts to print your drawing Highly detailed illustrations help you learn real-world industry techniques Learn to create, assemble, and manage a complete set of design documents Apply state-of-the-art modeling tools to create 3D visualizations

Introduction xxvii Chapter 1 Get ting to Know AutoCAD 1 Starting AutoCAD 2 Accessing the Welcome Screen 2 Understanding the Customer Involvement Program 5 Exploring the User Interface  5 Introducing the Application Window 9 Working in the Command–Line Interface 17 Using the Ribbon 18 Displaying the Ribbon Tools  20 Using the Ribbon Tools  22 Using the Application Menu 24 Opening a Drawing with the Application Menu 25 Switching Between Open Drawings  29 Using the Drop–Down Menus 30 Using the Toolbars  31 Saving Workspaces  33 Using the Keyboard 34 Using the Mouse  34 Are You Experienced? 35 Now you can… 35 Chapter 2 Learning Basic Commands to Get Started 37 Using the Line Command 38 Using Coordinates  45 Using Relative Coordinates  48 Using the Direct Distance Method  50 Drawing the Shape  51 Using Relative Cartesian Coordinates 51 Erasing Lines  52 Controlling How the Selection Tools Are Displayed 54 Using Relative Polar Coordinates  55 Using Direct Input  55 Using the Offset Command  57 Using the Fillet Command 60 Completing the Shape  64 Offsetting Lines to Mark an Opening  64 Extending Lines 65 Trimming Lines  67 If You Would Like More Practice…  71 Are You Experienced? 72 Now you can… 72 Chapter 3 Set ting Up a Drawing 73 Setting Up the Drawing Units  74 Setting Up the Drawing Size  79 Using the Grid  79 Setting Up Drawing Limits  83 Drawing with Grid and Snap  87 Taking a Closer Look at Dynamic Input  90 Saving Your Work 93 Saving Drawings to Your Hard Drive or Network Drive 93 Saving Drawings to Autodesk 360 Storage 96 Understanding AutoCAD Units 98 Linear Units  98 Angular Units 99 Are You Experienced? 100 Now you can… 100 Chapter 4 Developing Drawing Strategies: Part 1 101 Laying Out the Walls  102 Creating Polylines from Existing Objects 103 Creating and Editing Polylines  106 Creating the Exterior Wall Lines 109 Creating the Interior Walls  112 Cutting Openings in the Walls  125 Creating Doors  134 Drawing Swinging Doors 135 Copying Objects 144 Mirroring Objects 147 Scaling the Bathroom Door  150 Drawing a Sliding Glass Door  153 Drawing the Bifold Doors  163 If You Would Like More Practice…  170 An Alternative Sliding Glass Door 170 An Addition to the Cabin 170 Three Views of a Block 171 Are You Experienced? 173 Now you can… 173 Chapter 5 Developing Drawing Strategies: Part 2 175 Starting and Running Commands 176 Drawing the Thresholds 178 Drawing the Front Threshold  179 Drawing the Back Threshold 184 Drawing the Decks and Stairs  186 Drawing the Front Deck  186 Drawing the Deck Posts 189 Drawing the Stairs 194 Mirroring the Post and Railing  194 Drawing the Back Deck and Stairs  199 Using Point Filters to Finish the Deck  204 Laying Out the Kitchen  208 Drawing the Counter 209 Drawing the Stove and Refrigerator  213 Completing the Stove with Parametrics 215 Drawing the Kitchen Sink 228 Constructing the Bathroom 231 Setting Running Object Snaps  231 Drawing a Shower Unit  233 Drawing the Bathroom Sink and Mirror 235 Positioning the Toilet and Shelves  239 Drawing the Hot Tub 242 If You Would Like More Practice…  246 Drawing the Cabin Again 246 Drawing Something Else 246 Drawing Some Furniture for the Cabin  246 Drawing a Gasket 247 Drawing a Parking Lot 249 Are You Experienced? 251 Now you can… 251 Chapter 6 Using Layers to Organize Your Drawing 253 Using Layers as an Organizing Tool 254 Setting Up Layers 255 Assigning Linetypes to Layers 269 Assigning Objects to Layers 276 Turning Off and Freezing Layers 291 Drawing the Headers 294 Drawing the Roof 298 Setting a Linetype Scale Factor 304 Drawing the Ridgeline 306 Using the Layer Walk Tool 308 Setting Properties of Layers and Objects 310 Selecting Colors for Layers and Objects  310 Assigning a Color or a Linetype to an Object Instead of a Layer 310 Making a Color or a Linetype Current  311 Using the Action Recorder  312 Creating Layer States  316 If You Would Like More Practice…  320 Experimenting with Linetypes and Linetype Scales  320 Setting Up Layers for Your Own Trade or Profession 321 Are You Experienced? 322 Now you can… 322 Chapter 7 Combining Objects into Blocks 323 Making a Block for a Door  324 Inserting the Door Block 331 Using Dynamic Blocks 337 Understanding and Using Groups  339 Finding Blocks in a Drawing  342 Using Grips to Detect a Block  342 Using the List Command to Detect a Block  344 Using the Properties Palette to Examine a Block 346 Creating a Window Block 347 Inserting the Window Block 352 Rotating a Block during Insertion  353 Using Snap Tracking to Set the Insertion Point 356 Changing a Block’s Scale Factor by Using Object Properties  358 Finishing the Windows  360 Revising a Block  365 Sharing Information between Drawings 367 Dragging and Dropping between Two Open Drawings  368 Copying Objects between Drawings  371 Using the AutoCAD DesignCenter 372 Using Other Ways to Share Information between Drawings  379 If You Would Like More Practice…  387 Are You Experienced? 390 Now you can… 390 Chapter 8 Controlling Text in a Drawing 391 Setting Up Text Styles 392 Determining Text and Drawing Scale 393 Defining a Text Style for View Titles 394 Placing Titles of Views in the Drawing  398 Using Annotative Text 403 Defining an Annotative Text Style 404 Placing Room Labels in the Floor Plan 406 Using Text in a Grid  417 Creating a Title Block and Border 428 Using Multiline Text  445 Finishing the Title Block 446 Using Mtext for General Notes 450 Using the Spell–Check Feature  459 Exploring Other Aspects of Multiline Text  463 If You Would Like More Practice…  468 Are You Experienced? 469 Now you can… 469 Chapter 9 Using Dynamic Blocks and Tables 471 Using Attributes for a Grid  472 Defining Blocks with Attributes  477 Inserting Blocks with Attributes 479 Editing Attribute Text  481 Setting Up Multiple Attributes in a Block  483 Defining a Block with Multiple Attributes  488 Calculating Areas 490 Inserting the Room Information Block  494 Editing Attributes  499 Controlling the Visibility of Attributes  503 Exploring Other Uses for Attributes  507 Creating a Dynamic Block  508 Setting Up Parameters and Actions  509 Fine–Tuning the Dynamic Block with the Properties Palette  513 Inserting a Dynamic Block  516 Creating a Table  522 Defining a Table Style  523 Designing a Table 527 Creating Tables from Attributes  535 Modifying the Table Display 541 If You Would Like More Practice…  543 Are You Experienced? 543 Now you can… 543 Chapter 10 Generating Elevations 545 Drawing the South Elevation 546 Creating the South Elevation  546 Setting Up Lines for the Heights 549 Using Construction Lines to Project Elevation Points 550 Copying Objects by Using Grips  551 Trimming Lines in the Elevation  555 Assigning Elevation Layers  561 Drawing the Decks in Elevation  562 Generating the Other Elevations 577 Making the Opposite Elevation 577 Revising the New South Elevation  581 Making the Front and Back Elevations 587 Considering Drawing Scale Issues 598 Drawing Interior Elevations 599 If You Would Like More Practice…  599 Are You Experienced? 601 Now you can… 601 Chapter 11 Working with Hatches, Gradients, and Tool Palettes 603 Hatching the South Elevation  604 Looking at Hatch Patterns 608 Hatching the Rest of the South Elevation  610 Adding Special Effects 617 Using Hatches in the Floor Plan  623 Creating the User–Defined Hatch Pattern 624 Controlling the Origin of the Hatch Pattern  626 Finishing the Hatches for the Floors  628 Modifying the Shape of Hatch Patterns 631 Creating and Managing Tool Palettes  633 Creating a New Tool Palette 633 Setting Up a Palette for Hatches  636 Creating a Palette for Commands 638 If You Would Like More Practice…  641 Creating the Hatch Patterns for the Other Elevations 641 Creating Your Hatch Palette  642 Are You Experienced? 644 Now you can… 644 Chapter 12 Dimensioning a Drawing 645 Introducing Dimension Styles  646 Preparing for Dimensioning  647 Making a New Dimension Style 649 Setting Up the Symbols And Arrows Tab  651 Making Changes in the Text Tab 652 Working with Settings on the Fit Tab 654 Setting Up the Primary Units Tab (Architectural)  655 Setting Up the Primary Units Tab (Metric) 657 Completing the Dimension Style Setup  658 Exploring the Alternate Units Tab 660 Exploring the Tolerances Tab  663 Placing Dimensions on the Drawing  668 Placing Horizontal Dimensions 668 Using the Dimension Continue Command 671 Using the Dimension Baseline Command  674 Setting Up Vertical Dimensions  675 Finishing the Dimensions 678 Using Other Types of Dimensions  678 Using Radial Dimensions 680 Adding a Diameter Dimension 681 Adding an Arc Length  682 Setting Up Parent and Child Dimensioning Styles 683 Using Aligned and Angular Dimensions 685 Using Ordinate Dimensions 687 Using Leader Lines 691 Modifying Dimensions  697 Editing Dimension Text Content 698 Moving Dimensions 701 Adjusting Space between Stacked Dimensions 703 Using Dimension Overrides 703 Dimensioning Short Distances 706 If You Would Like More Practice…  710 Dimensioning the Garage Addition 710 Dimensioning to a Centerline  710 Completing Further Exercises 714 Are You Experienced? 715 Now you can… 715 Chapter 13 Managing External References 717 Drawing a Site Plan 718 Using Surveyor’s Units 718 Drawing the Driveway  724 Setting Up an External Reference  731 Using the External References Palette  732 Organizing the Drawing Objects 738 Moving and Rotating an Xref 740 Modifying an Xref Drawing  741 Modifying an Xref by Making It the Current Drawing 741 Modifying an Xref from within the Host Drawing  744 Adding an Image to a Drawing  749 Putting Xrefs to Use  753 Exploring Additional Xref Features  754 Setting the Xref Path 754 Binding Xrefs  756 Exploring Further on Your Own  759 If You Would Like More Practice…  760 Building Architectural References  760 Comparing Reference Types  761 Are You Experienced? 761 Now you can… 761 Chapter 14 Using Layouts to Set Up a Print 763 Getting Ready  764 Preparing the Title Block  765 Creating the Title Block Reference  765 Defining the Attributes  769 Making the Sheet Information Block  774 Setting Up a Sheet Template  776 Setting the Layout Parameters  778 Finishing the Sheet Template  783 Creating Your First Plan Sheet 788 Using Sheet Set Manager  791 Creating a New Sheet Set  791 Adding Existing Drawings to a Sheet Set 796 Creating Drawings with Sheet Set Manager 801 Setting Up Layouts  805 Referencing the Model 805 Creating the Paper Space Viewport 808 Setting the Viewport Scale  811 Copying the Layouts  813 Adjusting a Viewport’s Contents  826 Setting the Linetype Scale 827 Managing the Floor Plan Sheet File  828 Managing the Elevations Sheet File  834 Setting Up the Site Plan Sheet  838 Defining a New Viewport Scale 841 Locking and Turning Off Viewports  844 If You Would Like More Practice…  846 Are You Experienced? 848 Now you can… 848 Chapter 15 Printing a Drawing 849 Using the Plot Dialog Box 850 Printer/Plotter  852 Paper Size and Number of Copies 853 Plot Area 853 Plot Scale  860 Plot Offset and Plot Options  861 The Expanded Plot Dialog Box  861 Applying Plot–Style Tables  864 Introducing Plot–Style Table Files 865 Understanding How Plot–Style Table Files Are Organized 866 Assigning Plot–Style Tables to Drawings 869 Printing a Drawing 875 Determining Lineweights for a Drawing 875 Setting Other Properties of Layers  881 Setting Up the Other Parameters for the Print  882 Previewing a Print  884 Viewing Plots in Design Review 886 Printing a Drawing Using Layouts 888 Updating Model File Layer Properties in Sheet Files  888 Plotting a Single Layout  891 Printing a Drawing with Multiple Viewports  893 Printing with a Large–Format Printer  893 Publishing Multiple Layouts  895 Publishing with Sheet Set Manager  897 Going Forward  901 If You Would Like More Practice…  901 Are You Experienced? 902 Now you can… 902 Chapter 16 Creating 3D Geometry 903 Modeling in 3D  904 Setting Up the 3D Workspace and Environment  904 Making the Walls  909 Creating the Door and Window Block–Outs 913 Moving and Rotating in 3D  917 Using the First Right–Hand Rule 918 Cutting the Openings  921 Creating the Floor, Foundation, and Thresholds  923 Creating the Foundation and Supports  925 Building the Windows  927 Navigating with the ViewCube  941 Adding the Sliding Door  943 Building the Decks 945 Putting a Roof on the Cabin  963 Getting Further Directions in 3D  976 Using Other Solid–Modeling Tools 976 Using Mesh–Modeling Tools 980 Using Surface–Modeling Tools 981 If You Would Like More Practice…  983 Are You Experienced? 983 Now you can… 983 Chapter 17 Rendering and Materials 985 Creating Cameras to Reproduce Views  986 Using the Loft Tool 986 Creating the Cameras  991 Creating a Lighting Scheme 994 Creating a Light Source 995 Enabling Shadows  999 Creating the First Render  1000 Controlling the Background of the Rendering 1005 Adding Materials 1008 Adjusting the Material Mapping  1013 Rendering to a File 1018 If You Would Like More Practice…  1021 Are You Experienced? 1022 Now you can… 1022 Index 1023

Donnie Gladfelter is a highly visible and respected thought leader in the CAD community. He is well known for the CAD Geek blog (www.thecadgeek.com), has written many articles for the popular AUGIWorld magazine, and is a popular speaker at Autodesk University and other industry events. He has worked with the development team at Autodesk to help shape future versions of AutoCAD, and the company has featured him in numerous video interviews, including their popular ''Ask the Expert" series. Donnie also helps empower CAD professionals locally and across the world as a Business Development Manager for CADD Microsystems, an Autodesk Platinum Partner and Autodesk's 2010 Reseller of the Year.