AutoCAD 2014 and AutoCAD LT 2014: No Experience Required: Autodesk Official Press

This engaging book is the perfect step-by-step approach to Autodesk's powerful AutoCAD architectural design software. Popular AutoCAD expert and "CAD Geek" blogger Donnie Gladfelter helps you quickly build skills as you proceed through a continuous, hands-on AutoCAD tutorial—the design of a small cabin. Follow each exercise in order, or, if you prefer, jump in at any stage by downloading just those data files you need from the book's website. Either way, you can set your own pace as you learn how to best use and apply AutoCAD. You'll receive a thorough grounding in AutoCAD fundamentals, master the very latest industry standards and techniques, and quickly become productive with AutoCAD 2014. Start using basic AutoCAD commands and set up your own drawings right away Get up to speed on the latest AutoCAD 2014 features, such as file tabs and geographic location Follow an extended tutorial—the design of a summer cabin—and learn all tools and functions Develop smart drawing strategies that help you operate more efficiently Use layers, objects, blocks, groups, elevations, hatches, and multiline text effectively Confidently create, assemble, and manage a complete set of design documents Develop 3D models, add lighting or shadows, and render and output to a file Workflow-based exercises help you learn how to apply essential techniques Assemble multiple drawings into a complete set of design documents Apply advanced modeling tools to create 3D visualizations from 2D layouts

Introduction xxv Chapter 1 Getting to Know AutoCAD 1 Starting AutoCAD 2 Accessing the Welcome Screen 2 Understanding the Customer Involvement Program 5 Exploring the User Interface  6 Using Standard Workspaces 8 Switching the Current Workspace  9 Putting the User Interface to Work  11 Using the Ribbon  13 Using File Tabs to Manage Drawings  18 Working in the Command–Line Interface 19 Understanding the Status Bar 22 Using the Application Menu 24 Using the Toolbars  28 Using the Keyboard 29 Using the Mouse  30 If You Would Like More Practice…  31 Are You Experienced? 32 Now you can… 32 Chapter 2 Learning Basic Commands to Get Started 33 Using the Line Tool 34 Using Coordinates  39 Using Relative Coordinates  43 Using the Direct Distance Method  45 Drawing the Shape  46 Using Relative Cartesian Coordinates 46 Erasing Lines  48 Controlling How the Selection Tools Are Displayed 48 Using Relative Polar Coordinates  50 Using Direct Input  50 Using the Offset Command  52 Using the FILLET Command 55 Completing the Shape  59 Offsetting Lines to Mark an Opening  59 Extending Lines 60 Trimming Lines  62 If You Would Like More Practice…  66 Are You Experienced? 67 Now you can… 67 Chapter 3 Setting Up a Drawing 69 Setting Up the Drawing Units  70 Setting Up the Drawing Size  75 Using the Grid  75 Setting Up Drawing Limits  79 Drawing with Grid and Snap  83 Taking a Closer Look at Dynamic Input  86 Saving Your Work 88 Saving Drawings to Your Hard Drive or Network Drive 89 Saving Drawings to Autodesk 360 Storage 92 Understanding AutoCAD Units 94 Exploring Options for Linear Units 94 Exploring Options for Angular Units  95 Are You Experienced? 96 Now you can… 96 Chapter 4 Developing Drawing Strategies: Part 1 97 Laying Out the Walls  98 Creating Polylines from Existing Objects 99 Creating and Editing Polylines  102 Creating the Exterior Wall Lines 105 Creating the Interior Walls  108 Cutting Openings in the Walls  121 Creating Doors  131 Drawing Swinging Doors 132 Copying Objects 143 Mirroring Objects 145 Scaling the Bathroom Door  150 Drawing a Sliding Glass Door  152 Drawing the Bifold Doors  162 If You Would Like More Practice…  169 An Alternative Sliding Glass Door 169 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  187 Drawing the Front Deck  187 Drawing the Deck Posts 191 Drawing the Stairs 195 Mirroring the Post and Railing  197 Drawing the Back Deck and Stairs  201 Using Point Filters to Finish the Deck  207 Laying Out the Kitchen  210 Drawing the Counter 210 Drawing the Stove and Refrigerator  216 Completing the Stove with Parametrics 218 Drawing the Kitchen Sink 233 Constructing the Bathroom 236 Setting Running Object Snaps  237 Drawing a Shower Unit  238 Drawing the Bathroom Sink and Mirror 240 Positioning the Toilet and Shelves  244 Drawing the Hot Tub 248 If You Would Like More Practice…  252 Drawing the Cabin Again 252 Drawing Something Else 252 Drawing Furniture for the Cabin  252 Drawing a Gasket 253 Drawing a Parking Lot 255 Are You Experienced? 257 Now you can… 257 Chapter 6 Using Layers to Organize Your Drawing 259 Using Layers as an Organizing Tool 260 Setting Up Layers 262 Assigning Linetypes to Layers 276 Assigning Objects to Layers 282 Turning Off and Freezing Layers 298 Drawing the Headers 302 Drawing the Roof 306 Setting a Linetype Scale Factor 312 Drawing the Ridgeline 314 Using the Layer Walk Tool 315 Setting Properties of Layers and Objects 318 Assigning a Color or a Linetype to an Object Instead of a Layer 318 Making a Color or a Linetype Current  319 Using the Action Recorder  320 Creating Layer States  323 If You Would Like More Practice…  328 Experimenting with Linetypes and Linetype Scales  328 Setting Up Layers for Your Own Trade or Profession 329 Are You Experienced? 329 Now you can… 329 Chapter 7 Combining Objects into Blocks 331 Making a Block for a Door  332 Inserting the Door Block 340 Using Dynamic Blocks 345 Understanding and Using Groups  347 Finding Blocks in a Drawing  350 Using Grips to Detect a Block  350 Using the List Command to Detect a Block  351 Using the Properties Palette to Examine a Block 353 Creating a Window Block 355 Inserting the Window Block 360 Rotating a Block during Insertion  361 Using Snap Tracking to Set the Insertion Point 364 Changing a Block’s Scale Factor by Using Object Properties  366 Finishing the Windows  368 Revising a Block  373 Sharing Information between Drawings 375 Dragging and Dropping between Two Open Drawings  376 Copying Objects between Drawings  379 Using the AutoCAD DesignCenter 380 Using Other Ways to Share Information between Drawings  387 If You Would Like More Practice…  395 Are You Experienced? 397 Now you can… 397 Chapter 8 Controlling Text in a Drawing 399 Setting Up Text Styles 400 Determining Text and Drawing Scale 400 Defining a Text Style for View Titles 402 Placing Titles of Views in the Drawing  406 Using Annotative Text 411 Defining an Annotative Text Style 411 Placing Room Labels in the Floor Plan 414 Using Text in a Grid  425 Creating a Border and Title Block  437 Using Multiline Text  454 Finishing the Title Block 454 Using Mtext for General Notes 458 Using the Spell–Check Feature  467 Exploring Other Aspects of Multiline Text  471 If You Would Like More Practice…  476 Are You Experienced? 477 Now you can… 477 Chapter 9 Using Dynamic Blocks and Tables 479 Using Attributes for a Grid 480 Defining Blocks with Attributes  485 Inserting Blocks with Attributes 487 Editing Attribute Text  490 Setting Up Multiple Attributes in a Block  491 Defining a Block with Multiple Attributes  496 Calculating Areas 498 Inserting the Room Information Block  502 Editing Attributes  507 Controlling the Visibility of Attributes  511 Exploring Other Uses for Attributes  515 Creating a Dynamic Block  516 Setting Up Parameters and Actions  517 Fine–Tuning the Dynamic Block with the Properties Palette  521 Inserting a Dynamic Block  525 Creating a Table  531 Defining a Table Style  531 Designing a Table 535 Adding Formulas to a Table 539 Creating Tables from Attributes  544 Modifying the Table Display 549 If You Would Like More Practice…  552 Are You Experienced? 552 Now you can… 552 Chapter 10 Generating Elevations 553 Drawing the South Elevation 554 Creating the South Elevation  555 Setting Up Lines for the Heights 556 Using Construction Lines to Project Elevation Points 559 Copying Objects by Using Grips  560 Trimming Lines in the Elevation  564 Assigning Elevation Layers  570 Drawing the Decks in Elevation  571 Generating the Other Elevations 587 Making the Opposite Elevation 588 Revising the New South Elevation  591 Making the Front and Back Elevations 598 Considering Drawing Scale Issues 609 Drawing Interior Elevations 610 If You Would Like More Practice…  610 Are You Experienced? 612 Now you can… 612 Chapter 11 Working with Hatches, Gradients, and Tool Palettes 613 Hatching the South Elevation  614 Looking at Hatch Patterns 618 Hatching the Rest of the South Elevation  620 Using Hatches in the Floor Plan  633 Creating the User–Defined Hatch Pattern 634 Controlling the Origin of the Hatch Pattern  636 Finishing the Hatches for the Floors  638 Modifying the Shape of Hatch Patterns 640 Creating and Managing Tool Palettes  642 Creating a New Tool Palette 642 Setting Up a Palette for Hatches  646 Creating a Palette for Commands 648 If You Would Like More Practice…  650 Creating the Hatch Patterns for the Other Elevations 650 Creating Your Hatch Palette  652 Are You Experienced? 653 Now you can… 653 Chapter 12 Dimensioning a Drawing 655 Introducing Dimension Styles 656 Preparing for Dimensioning  657 Making a New Dimension Style 659 Setting Up the Symbols And Arrows Tab  661 Making Changes in the Text Tab 662 Working with Settings on the Fit Tab 664 Setting Up the Primary Units Tab (Architectural) 665 Setting Up the Primary Units Tab (Metric) 667 Completing the Dimension Style Setup  668 Exploring the Alternate Units Tab 670 Exploring the Tolerances Tab  672 Placing Dimensions on the Drawing  678 Placing Horizontal Dimensions 678 Using the Dimension Continue Command 680 Using the Dimension Baseline Command  683 Setting Up Vertical Dimensions  684 Finishing the Dimensions 688 Using Other Types of Dimensions  689 Using Radial Dimensions 690 Adding a Diameter Dimension 691 Adding an Arc Length  692 Setting Up Parent and Child Dimensioning Styles 692 Using Aligned and Angular Dimensions 695 Using Ordinate Dimensions 697 Using Leader Lines 700 Modifying Dimensions  707 Editing Dimension Text Content 708 Moving Dimensions 711 Adjusting Space between Stacked Dimensions 713 Using Dimension Overrides 714 Dimensioning Short Distances 716 If You Would Like More Practice…  720 Dimensioning the Garage Addition 720 Dimensioning to a Centerline  721 Completing Further Exercises 725 Are You Experienced? 725 Now you can… 725 Chapter 13 Managing External References 727 Drawing a Site Plan 728 Using Surveyor’s Units 729 Drawing the Driveway  733 Setting Up an External Reference  741 Using the External References Palette  741 Organizing the Drawing Objects 747 Moving and Rotating an Xref 748 Modifying an Xref Drawing  749 Modifying an Xref by Making It the Current Drawing 750 Modifying an Xref from within the Host Drawing  753 Adding an Image to a Drawing  759 Putting Xrefs to Use  762 Exploring Additional Xref Features  764 Setting the Xref Path 764 Changing Path Types 766 Binding Xrefs  768 Exploring on Your Own  770 If You Would Like More Practice…  771 Building Architectural References  771 Comparing Reference Types  772 Are You Experienced? 772 Now you can… 772 Chapter 14 Using Layouts to Set Up a Print 773 Getting Ready  774 Preparing the Title Block  774 Creating the Title Block Reference  775 Defining the Attributes  780 Making the Sheet Information Block  785 Setting Up a Sheet Template  787 Setting the Layout Parameters  789 Finishing the Sheet Template  793 Creating Your First Plan Sheet 799 Using Sheet Set Manager  802 Creating a New Sheet Set  802 Adding Existing Drawings to a Sheet Set 808 Creating Drawings with Sheet Set Manager 812 Setting Up Layouts 817 Referencing the Model 817 Creating the Paper Space Viewport 820 Setting the Viewport Scale  822 Copying the Layouts  825 Adjusting a Viewport’s Contents  838 Setting the Linetype Scale 839 Managing the Floor Plan Sheet File  840 Managing the Elevations Sheet File  846 Setting Up the Site Plan Sheet  850 Defining a New Viewport Scale 852 Locking and Turning Off Viewports  855 If You Would Like More Practice…  857 Are You Experienced? 858 Now you can… 858 Chapter 15 Printing a Drawing 859 Using the Plot Dialog Box 860 Printer/Plotter  862 Paper Size and Number of Copies 863 Plot Area 863 Plot Scale  869 Plot Offset and Plot Options  870 The Expanded Plot Dialog Box  872 Applying Plot–Style Tables  874 Introducing Plot–Style Table Files 874 Understanding How Plot–Style Table Files Are Organized 876 Assigning Plot–Style Tables to Drawings 879 Printing a Drawing 885 Determining Lineweights for a Drawing 885 Setting Other Properties of Layers  891 Setting Up the Other Parameters for the Print  892 Previewing a Print  894 Viewing Plots in Design Review 896 Printing a Drawing Using Layouts 898 Updating Model File Layer Properties in Sheet Files 898 Plotting a Single Layout  901 Printing a Drawing with Multiple Viewports  903 Printing with a Large–Format Printer  903 Publishing Multiple Layouts  905 Publishing with Sheet Set Manager  907 Going Forward  910 If You Would Like More Practice…  911 Are You Experienced? 912 Now you can… 912 Chapter 16 Creating 3D Geometry 913 Modeling in 3D  914 Setting Up the 3D Workspace and Environment  914 Making the Walls  919 Creating the Door and Window Block–Outs 924 Moving and Rotating in 3D  928 Using the First Right–Hand Rule 929 Cutting the Openings  933 Creating the Floor, Foundation, and Thresholds  935 Creating the Foundation and Supports  937 Building the Windows  939 Navigating with the ViewCube  954 Adding the Sliding Door  956 Building the Decks 960 Putting a Roof on the Cabin  979 Getting Further Directions in 3D  993 Using Other Solid–Modeling Tools 993 Using Mesh–Modeling Tools 996 Using Surface–Modeling Tools 997 If You Would Like More Practice…  999 Are You Experienced? 1000 Now you can… 1000 Chapter 17 Rendering and Materials 1001 Creating Cameras to Reproduce Views  1002 Using the Loft Tool 1002 Creating the Cameras  1007 Creating a Lighting Scheme 1011 Creating a Light Source 1011 Enabling Shadows  1014 Creating the First Render  1016 Controlling the Background of the Rendering 1020 Adding Materials 1023 Adjusting the Material Mapping  1028 Rendering to a File 1033 If You Would Like More Practice…  1037 Are You Experienced? 1037 Now you can… 1037 Index 1039

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 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 on many occasions, including in numerous video interviews. Donnie also helps empower CAD professionals locally and across the world as a Business Development Manager for CADD Microsystems (an Autodesk Platinum Partner) and as a former member of the Autodesk User Group International Board of Directors.