Mastering AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD LT 2012

George Omura is a licensed architect and Autodesk Authorized Author who has more than 30 years of experience in architecture and has been using AutoCAD for more than 20 years. He has worked on design projects ranging from resort hotels to metropolitan transit systems to the San Francisco Library project. He is the all-time bestselling AutoCAD author and was cited as favorite CAD author by members of the Autodesk User Group International (AUGI) in AUGIWorld magazine's "Best of Everything CAD" issue.

Introduction  xxxi

Part 1 • The Basics  1

Chapter 1 • Exploring the AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Interface  3

Taking a Guided Tour  4

Launching AutoCAD 4

The AutoCAD Window 5

Using the Application Menu 7

Using the Ribbon  9

Picking Points in the Drawing Area  13

Using the UCS Icon 14

Working in the Command Window  14

Working with AutoCAD 15

Opening an Existing File 15

Getting a Closer Look  17

Saving a File as You Work 20

Making Changes 20

Working with Multiple Files 22

Adding a Predrawn Symbol with the Tool Palettes  25

The Bottom Line 26

Chapter 2 • Creating Your First Drawing 27

Getting to Know the Home Tab’s Draw and Modify Panels 28

Starting Your First Drawing 30

Specifying Exact Distances with Coordinates 34

Specifying Polar Coordinates 36

Specifying Relative Cartesian Coordinates  37

Interpreting the Cursor Modes and Understanding Prompts  39

Understanding Cursor Modes  39

Choosing Command Options 41

Selecting Objects  45

Selecting Objects in AutoCAD  45

Using Noun/Verb Selection  51

Editing with Grips 56

Stretching Lines by Using Grips  57

Moving and Rotating with Grips 59

Using Dynamic Input  61

Getting Help 66

Using the InfoCenter  67

Using Context-Sensitive Help 68

Exploring Autodesk Exchange 68

Finding Additional Sources of Help  69

Displaying Data in a Text Window 70

Displaying the Properties of an Object 71

The Bottom Line 74

Chapter 3 • Setting Up and Using AutoCAD’s Drafting Tools  75

Setting Up a Work Area  76

Specifying Units  76

Fine-Tuning the Measurement System  79

Setting Up the Drawing Limits  80

Looking at an Alternative to Limits 81

Understanding Scale Factors 82

Using Polar Tracking  83

Setting the Polar Tracking Angle 84

Exploring the Drawing Process 86

Locating an Object in Reference to Others 86

Getting a Closer Look  87

Modifying an Object  88

Planning and Laying Out a Drawing 92

Making a Preliminary Sketch 93

Using the Layout 94

Erasing the Layout Lines 101

Putting On the Finishing Touches 103

Aligning Objects by Using Object Snap Tracking 104

Using the AutoCAD Modes as Drafting Tools  110

Using Grid Mode as a Background Grid 110

Using the Snap Modes 113

The Bottom Line 114

Chapter 4 • Organizing Objects with Blocks and Groups  115

Creating a Symbol  116

Understanding the Block Definition Dialog Box 118

Inserting a Symbol 120

Scaling and Rotating Blocks  123

Using an Existing Drawing as a Symbol 124

Modifying a Block  127

Unblocking and Redefining a Block  128

Saving a Block as a Drawing File 129

Replacing Existing Files with Blocks 130

Other Uses for Blocks 131

Understanding the Annotation Scale 132

Grouping Objects 135

Modifying Members of a Group  137

Ungrouping, Adding, and Subtracting From a Group 140

Working with the Object Grouping Dialog Box 141

Working with the LT Group Manager 143

The Bottom Line 144

Chapter 5 • Keeping Track of Layers and Blocks  145

Organizing Information with Layers  146

Creating and Assigning Layers  147

Working on Layers  154

Controlling Layer Visibility  158

Finding the Layers You Want  160

Taming an Unwieldy List of Layers 161

Assigning Linetypes to Layers 168

Adding a Linetype to a Drawing 169

Controlling Lineweights  173

Keeping Track of Blocks and Layers 174

Getting a Text File List of Layers or Blocks 174

The Bottom Line 176

Part 2 • Mastering Intermediate Skills  177

Chapter 6 • Editing and Reusing Data to Work Efficiently  179

Creating and Using Templates 179

Creating a Template  180

Using a Template 181

Copying an Object Multiple Times 182

Making Circular Copies  182

Making Row and Column Copies  184

Fine-Tuning Your View  187

Finishing the Kitchenette  189

Array Along a Path 189

Making Changes to an Associative Array  191

Developing Your Drawing  194

Importing Settings  194

Using Osnap Tracking to Place Objects 197

Finding an Exact Distance along a Curve  212

Changing the Length of Objects  214

Creating a New Drawing by Using Parts from Another Drawing  215

Eliminating Unused Blocks, Layers, Linetypes, Shapes, Styles, and More 216

The Bottom Line 218

Chapter 7 • Mastering Viewing Tools, Hatches, and External References  219

Assembling the Parts 219

Taking Control of the AutoCAD Display 223

Understanding Regeneration and Redrawing 223

Understanding the Frozen Layer Option  228

Using Hatch Patterns in Your Drawings  229

Placing a Hatch Pattern in a Specific Area  229

Adding Predefined Hatch Patterns  231

Positioning Hatch Patterns Accurately  233

Updating a Block from an External File  234

Changing the Hatch Area  237

Modifying a Hatch Pattern  238

Understanding the Boundary Hatch Options 240

Controlling Boundaries with the Boundaries Panel 240

Fine-Tuning the Boundary Behavior 241

Controlling Hatch Behavior with the Options Panel  241

Controlling Hatch Default Layer, Layout Scale, and ISO Line Weight  243

Using Additional Hatch Features 243

Using Gradient Shading  244

Tips for Using Hatch 246

Space Planning and Hatch Patterns 246

Using External References  249

Attaching a Drawing as an External Reference 250

Other Differences Between External References and Blocks 254

Other External Reference Options 255

Clipping Xref Views and Improving Performance 257

Editing Xrefs in Place  260

Using the External Reference Tab  263

Adding and Removing Objects from Blocks and Xrefs  263

Understanding the Reference Edit Dialog Box Options 265

The Bottom Line 266

Chapter 8 • Introducing Printing, Plotting, and Layouts  269

Plotting the Plan 269

Understanding the Plotter Settings 273

Paper Size 274

Drawing Orientation  274

Plot Area 275

Plot Scale  276

Shaded Viewport Options 279

Plot Offset 280

Plot Options 281

Exit Options 283

WYSIWYG Plotting Using Layout Views 283

Setting Plot Scale in the Layout Viewports  285

Adding an Output Device  287

Editing a Plotter Configuration  289

Storing a Page Setup  291

Plotter and Printer Hardware Considerations  293

Understanding Your Plotter’s Limits 293

Knowing Your Plotter’s Origins 296

The Bottom Line 298

Chapter 9 • Understanding Plot Styles 299

Choosing Between Color-Dependent and Named Plot Style Tables 299

Creating a Color Plot Style Table 301

Editing and Using Plot Style Tables  302

Making Your Plot Styles Visible 305

Making Changes to Multiple Plot Styles 306

Setting Up Line Corner Styles  308

Setting Up Screen Values for Solid Areas 309

Controlling the Visibility of Overlapping Objects  310

Other Options in the Plot Style Table Editor  310

Assigning Named Plot Styles Directly to Layers and Objects  314

Using Named Plot Style Tables 314

Assigning Plot Styles to Objects 317

Assigning Plot Style Tables to Layers  320

The Bottom Line 321

Chapter 10 • Adding Text to Drawings 323

Preparing a Drawing for Text 323

Organizing Text by Styles  324

Getting Familiar with the Text and Annotation Scale Control Panels 326

Setting the Annotation Scale and Adding Text 327

Inserting Text 327

Exploring Text and Scale 329

Understanding the Text Style Dialog Box Options 331

Styles 331

Set Current/New/Delete 331

Font  331

Size  332

Effects 332

Exploring Text Formatting in AutoCAD  333

Adjusting the Text Height and Font 333

Understanding the Text Editor Tab  335

Adding Symbols and Special Characters  336

Setting Indents and Tabs 338

What Do the Fonts Look Like? 342

Adding Simple Single-Line Text Objects  344

Justifying Single-Line Text Objects  346

Using Special Characters with Single-Line Text Objects  348

Using the Check Spelling Feature 349

How Check Spelling Works  349

Choosing a Dictionary 350

Substituting Fonts  352

Finding and Replacing Text  353

The Bottom Line 357

Chapter 11 • Using Fields and Tables  359

Using Fields to Associate Text with Drawing Properties  359

Adding Tables to Your Drawing  363

Creating a Table 363

Adding Cell Text 364

Adjusting Table Text Orientation and Location 366

Editing the Table Line Work 368

Adding Formulas to Cells 370

Using Formulas Directly in Cells 371

Using Other Math Operations  372

Importing and Exporting Tables 373

Importing a Table  373

Exporting Tables 374

Creating Table Styles 375

Adding or Modifying a Table Style  375

The Table Style Options 377

The Bottom Line 378

Chapter 12 • Using Dimensions  379

Understanding the Components of a Dimension 379

Creating a Dimension Style  380

Setting Up the Primary Unit Style 383

Setting the Height for Dimension Text  384

Setting the Location and Orientation of Dimension Text 385

Choosing an Arrow Style and Setting the Dimension Scale 385

Setting Up Alternate Units  389

Setting the Current Dimension Style 390

Modifying a Dimension Style 391

Drawing Linear Dimensions  391

Understanding the Dimensions Panel 391

Placing Horizontal and Vertical Dimensions 392

Continuing a Dimension 393

Drawing Dimensions from a Common Base Extension Line  395

Adjusting the Distance Between Dimensions  397

Editing Dimensions 397

Appending Data to Dimension Text  398

Using Grips to Make Minor Adjustments to Dimensions  399

Changing Style Settings of Individual Dimensions  401

Editing Dimensions and Other Objects Together  403

Associating Dimensions with Objects 406

Adding a String of Dimensions with a Single Operation  407

Adding or Removing the Alternate Dimensions 408

Dimensioning Nonorthogonal Objects 408

Dimensioning Nonorthogonal Linear Distances  409

Dimensioning Radii, Diameters, and Arcs 410

Skewing Dimension Lines 413

Adding a Note with a Leader Arrow  414

Creating Multileader Styles 416

Editing Multileader Notes 418

Breaking a Dimension Line for a Leader  418

Applying Ordinate Dimensions  419

Adding Tolerance Notation  420

Inserting Tolerance and Datum Values 420

Adding Inspection Dimensions 422

The Bottom Line 422

Part 3 • Mastering Advanced Skills  425

Chapter 13 • Using Attributes 427

Creating Attributes  428

Adding Attributes to Blocks 428

Copying and Editing Attribute Definitions 431

Turning the Attribute Definitions into a Block  433

Inserting Blocks Containing Attributes  435

Editing Attributes  438

Editing Attribute Values One at a Time  438

Editing Attribute Text Formats and Properties 439

Making Global Changes to Attribute Values 441

Making Invisible Attributes Visible 442

Making Global Format and Property Changes to Attributes  443

Redefining Blocks Containing Attributes 445

Extracting and Exporting Attribute Information 446

Performing the Extraction 447

Extracting Attribute Data to an AutoCAD Table 451

The Bottom Line 453

Chapter 14 • Copying Existing Drawings into AutoCAD 455

Methods for Converting Paper Drawings to AutoCAD Files 455

Importing a Raster Image 456

Working with a Raster Image 459

Scaling a Raster Image 460

Controlling Object Visibility and Overlap with Raster Images  460

Clipping a Raster Image  462

Adjusting Brightness, Contrast, and Fade  464

Turning Off the Frame, Adjusting Overall Quality, and Controlling Transparency 465

Working with PDF Files  468

Importing a PDF 468

Scaling and Osnaps with PDFs 469

Controlling the PDF Display 471

The Bottom Line 473

Chapter 15 • Advanced Editing and Organizing  475

Using External References  475

Preparing Existing Drawings for External Referencing 476

Assembling Xrefs to Build a Drawing 478

Importing Named Elements from Xrefs 484

Controlling the Xref Search Path  486

Managing Layers  487

Saving and Recalling Layer Settings 487

Other Tools for Managing Layers  491

Using Advanced Tools: Filter and Quick Select  492

Filtering Selections 493

Using Quick Select  497

Using the QuickCalc Calculator  499

Adding Foot and Inch Lengths and Finding the Sum of Angles  501

Using the Display Area and Units Conversion  504

Using QuickCalc to Find Points 505

Pasting to the Command Line  507

Finding Fractional Distances Between Two Points 508

Using QuickCalc While in the Middle of a Command 510

Storing Expressions and Values 512

Guidelines for Working with QuickCalc  513

The Bottom Line 516

Chapter 16 • Laying Out Your Printer Output  517

Understanding Model Space and Paper Space  517

Switching from Model Space to Paper Space 518

Setting the Size of a Paper Space Layout 520

Creating New Paper Space Viewports  521

Reaching Inside Viewports 523

Working with Paper Space Viewports  525

Scaling Views in Paper Space  526

Setting Layers in Individual Viewports  528

Creating and Using Multiple Paper Space Layouts 531

Creating Odd-Shaped Viewports  532

Understanding Lineweights, Linetypes, and Dimensions in Paper Space 535

Controlling and Viewing Lineweights in Paper Space 535

The Lineweight Settings Dialog Box 537

Linetype Scales and Paper Space 537

Dimensioning in Paper Space Layouts  538

Other Uses for Paper Space 541

The Bottom Line 542

Chapter 17 • Making “Smart” Drawings with Parametric Tools 543

Why Use Parametric Drawing Tools 543

Connecting Objects with Geometric Constraints 545

Using AutoConstrain to Add Constraints Automatically  545

Editing a Drawing Containing Constraints 546

Using Other Geometric Constraints  549

Using Constraints in the Drawing Process 550

Controlling Sizes with Dimensional Constraints 551

Adding a Dimensional Constraint 551

Editing a Dimensional Constraint 552

Using Formulas to Control and Link Dimensions  554

Adding a Formula Parameter 554

Testing the Formula  556

Using Other Formulas  556

Editing the Constraint Options 558

Putting Constraints to Use 560

The Bottom Line 561

Chapter 18 • Using Dynamic Blocks 563

Exploring the Block Editor  563

Opening the Block Editor  564

Editing a Block and Creating New Blocks  565

Creating a Dynamic Block  566

Adding a Parameter 567

Adding an Action 568

Adding an Increment Value  570

Editing Parameters and Actions 572

Keeping an Object Centered 572

Using Constraints in Dynamic Blocks  573

Adding a List of Predefined Options  578

Creating Multiple Shapes in One Block  581

Rotating Objects in Unison 586

Filling in a Space Automatically with Objects 590

Including Block Information with Data Extraction  592

The Bottom Line 594

Chapter 19 • Drawing Curves  597

Introducing Polylines  597

Drawing a Polyline 597

Setting Polyline Options  599

Editing Polylines  600

Setting Pedit Options 603

Smoothing Polylines 604

Editing Vertices 605

Creating a Polyline Spline Curve 614

Using True Spline Curves 616

Drawing a True Spline 617

Understanding the Spline Options  618

Fine-Tuning Spline Curves  620

Marking Divisions on Curves  622

Dividing Objects into Segments of Equal Length 622

Dividing Objects into Specified Lengths  624

The Bottom Line 625

Chapter 20 • Getting and Exchanging Data from Drawings 627

Finding the Area of Closed Boundaries 627

Finding the Area of an Object 628

Using Hatch Patterns to Find Areas  629

Adding and Subtracting Areas with the Area Command 631

Getting General Information 635

Determining the Drawing’s Status  635

Keeping Track of Time 637

Getting Information from System Variables  637

Keeping a Log of Your Activity  638

Capturing and Saving Text Data from the AutoCAD Text Window  639

Storing Searchable Information in AutoCAD Files 640

Searching for AutoCAD Files 642

Recovering Corrupted Files  642

Using the DXF File Format to Exchange CAD Data with Other Programs  643

Exporting DXF Files 643

Opening or Importing DXF Files 644

Using AutoCAD Drawings in Page Layout Programs 645

Exporting Raster Files  646

Exporting Vector Files  650

Using OLE to Import Data  651

Editing OLE Links  653

Importing Worksheets as AutoCAD Tables  654

Understanding Options for Embedding Data  656

Using the Clipboard to Export AutoCAD Drawings  656

The Bottom Line 657

Part 4 • 3D Modeling and Imaging 659

Chapter 21 • Creating 3D Drawings  661

Getting to Know the 3D Modeling Workspace 661

Drawing in 3D Using Solids 663

Adjusting Appearances 665

Creating a 3D Box 665

Editing 3D Solids with Grips  666

Constraining Motion with the Gizmo 668

Rotating Objects in 3D Using Dynamic UCS 668

Drawing on a 3D Object’s Surface  671

Pushing and Pulling Shapes from a Solid  673

Making Changes to Your Solid 675

Creating 3D Forms from 2D Shapes  677

Extruding a Polyline  677

Isolating Coordinates with Point Filters 681

Moving Around Your Model  684

Finding Isometric and Orthogonal Views  684

Rotating Freely Around Your Model 686

Changing Your View Direction  686

Using SteeringWheels  688

Changing Where You Are Looking 690

Flying Through Your View 691

Changing from Perspective to Parallel Projection 692

Getting a Visual Effect  693

Using Visual Styles 693

Creating a Sketched Look with Visual Styles 694

Turning a 3D View into a 2D AutoCAD Drawing  696

Using the Point Cloud Feature 700

The Bottom Line 700

Chapter 22 • Using Advanced 3D Features  703

Setting Up AutoCAD for This Chapter  703

Mastering the User Coordinate System  704

Defining a UCS  705

Saving a UCS 707

Working in a UCS 708

Building 3D Parts in Separate Files  709

Understanding the UCS Options 711

UCS Based on Object Orientation  712

UCS Based on Offset Orientation 714

UCS Rotated Around an Axis 715

Orienting a UCS in the View Plane  717

Saving a UCS with a View 717

Using Viewports to Aid in 3D Drawing 717

Using the Array Tools  721

Making Changes to an Associative Array  722

Creating Complex 3D Surfaces  723

Laying Out a 3D Form  723

Spherical and Cylindrical Coordinate Formats 724

Using a 3D Polyline 724

Creating a Curved 3D Surface  726

Converting the Surface into a Solid 731

Shaping the Solid  731

Finding the Interference Between Two Solids  732

Creating Tubes with the Sweep Tool 735

Using Sweep to Create Complex Forms  737

Creating Spiral Forms   740

Creating Surface Models 742

Slicing a Solid with a Surface  743

Finding the Volume of a Cut 745

Understanding the Loft Command 747

Moving Objects in 3D Space 751

Aligning Objects in 3D Space 751

Moving an Object in 3D 751

Rotating an Object in 3D  753

The Bottom Line 754

Chapter 23 • Rendering 3D Drawings  757

Testing the Waters  757

Creating a Quick Study Rendering 761

Simulating the Sun 762

Setting Up the Sun  762

Setting Polar North 764

Adding a Distant Light  765

Using Materials  769

Adjusting the Global Material  769

Creating a New Material and Changing Its Properties  771

Adding a Background  773

Creating Effects Using Materials and Lights 777

Adding a Self-Illuminated Material 777

Assigning Materials by Layer 780

Simulating a Night Scene with Spotlights  780

Adding a Point Light  785

Editing Lights  786

Applying and Adjusting Texture Maps  788

Creating a Building from a Box  789

Adjusting a Material to Fit an Object 791

Exploring Your Other Material-Mapping Options  794

Specifying the Size of a Bitmap  795

Simulating Trees and People with Opacity Maps 798

Understanding the Rendering Options  801

Checking and Saving Renderings in the Render Window  803

Adding Cameras for Better View Control  804

Making Adjustments to Your Camera 807

Creating an Animated Walk-Through 809

Fine-Tuning the Animation 811

Printing Your Renderings 813

Simulating Natural Light  815

Rendering Interior Views  815

Using the Sun and Sky Simulation  818

The Bottom Line 822

Chapter 24 • Editing and Visualizing 3D Solids 823

Understanding Solid Modeling 823

Creating Solid Forms 826

Joining Primitives 826

Creating Complex Solids 830

Tapering an Extrusion  830

Sweeping a Shape on a Curved Path 831

Revolving a Polyline 833

Editing Solids  835

Splitting a Solid into Two Pieces  835

Rounding Corners with the Fillet Tool  837

Chamfering Corners with the Chamfer Tool 838

Using the Solid Editing Tools 840

Streamlining the 2D Drawing Process 849

Drawing Standard Top, Front, and Right-Side Views 850

Adding Dimensions and Notes in a Layout 852

Using Visual Styles with a Viewport 853

Visualizing Solids  854

The Bottom Line 863

Chapter 25 • Exploring 3D Mesh and Surface Modeling  865

Creating a Simple 3D Mesh  865

Creating a Mesh Primitive 866

Understanding the Parts of a Mesh 867

Smoothing a Mesh  868

Editing Faces and Edges 868

Stretching Faces  870

Moving an Edge  873

Adding More Faces 876

Rotating an Edge 878

Adding a Crease  880

Splitting and Extruding a Mesh Face  882

Creating Mesh Surfaces 885

Revolved Surface 885

Edge Surface  886

Ruled Surface 887

Tabulated Surface  888

Converting Meshes to Solids  889

Understanding 3D Surfaces  890

Editing Surfaces  892

Using Extrude, Surface Trim, and Surface Fillet  894

Using Surface Blend, Patch, and Offset 896

Understanding Associativity  900

Editing with Control Vertices 903

Editing with the CV Edit Bar  906

Making Holes in a Surface with the Project Geometry Panel 909

Visualizing Curvature: Understanding the Analysis Panel  909

The Bottom Line 912

Part 5 • Customization and Integration  913

Chapter 26 • Customizing Toolbars, Menus, Linetypes, and Hatch Patterns  915

Using Workspaces  915

Customizing the User Interface 917

Taking a Quick Customization Tour 917

Understanding the Customizations In All Files Panel 921

Getting the Overall View 924

Finding Commands in the Command List 925

Opening Preview, Button Image, and Shortcuts  926

Getting to the Core of Customization in the Properties Group  926

Creating Your Own Ribbon Panels and Menus 927

Customizing Ribbon Panel Tools 928

Creating Macros in Tools and Menus 932

Pausing for User Input 933

Opening an Expanded Text Box for the Macro Option 934

Editing Keyboard Shortcuts 935

Saving, Loading, and Unloading Your Customizations  935

Understanding the Diesel Macro Language  937

Using Diesel at the Command Line 938

Using Diesel in a Custom Menu Macro 939

Using Diesel as a Menu Bar Option Label  940

Using Diesel and Fields to Generate Text 943

Creating Custom Linetypes 944

Viewing Available Linetypes  944

Creating a New Linetype  945

Understanding the Linetype Code  946

Creating Complex Linetypes  947

Creating Hatch Patterns  950

The Bottom Line 953

Chapter 27 • Managing and Sharing Your Drawings 955

Sharing Drawings over the Internet 955

Sharing Project Files with eTransmit 956

Protecting AutoCAD Drawing Files  960

ePublishing Your Drawings 964

Exchanging Drawing Sets 965

Exploring Other Publish Options  967

Creating a DWF File by Using the Plot Dialog Box 969

Adding Hyperlinks to Drawings 970

Managing Your Drawings with DesignCenter and the Tool Palettes  974

Getting Familiar with DesignCenter 975

Opening and Inserting Files with DesignCenter  978

Finding and Extracting the Contents of a Drawing  979

Exchanging Data Between Open Files  982

Loading Specific Files into DesignCenter 983

Downloading Symbols from DesignCenter Online  983

Customizing the Tool Palettes with DesignCenter  984

Searching Your Drawing Library With Content Explorer 989

Indexing Your Files 989

Searching Your Files 991

Controlling the Content Explorer’s Display 991

Adding Network Resources  993

Establishing Office Standards  994

Establishing Layering and Text Conventions 994

Checking Office Standards  995

Converting Multiple Layer Settings  999

Exploring Other Layer Translator Options 1001

The Bottom Line 1002

Appendices  1005

Appendix A • The Bottom Line  1007

Chapter 1: Exploring the AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Interface 1007

Chapter 2: Creating Your First Drawing  1008

Chapter 3: Setting Up and Using AutoCAD’s Drafting Tools 1009

Chapter 4: Organizing Objects with Blocks and Groups  1009

Chapter 5: Keeping Track of Layers and Blocks  1010

Chapter 6: Editing and Reusing Data to Work Efficiently 1011

Chapter 7: Mastering Viewing Tools, Hatches, and External References 1012

Chapter 8: Introducing Printing, Plotting, and Layouts  1012

Chapter 9: Understanding Plot Styles 1013

Chapter 10: Adding Text to Drawings  1014

Chapter 11: Using Fields and Tables  1015

Chapter 12: Using Dimensions  1016

Chapter 13: Using Attributes  1017

Chapter 14: Copying Existing Drawings into AutoCAD 1017

Chapter 15: Advanced Editing and Organizing 1018

Chapter 16: Laying Out Your Printer Output  1019

Chapter 17: Making “Smart” Drawings with Parametric Tools 1020

Chapter 18: Using Dynamic Blocks 1021

Chapter 19: Drawing Curves  1022

Chapter 20: Getting and Exchanging Data from Drawings  1024

Chapter 21: Creating 3D Drawings 1024

Chapter 22: Using Advanced 3D Features 1025

Chapter 23: Rendering 3D Drawings  1027

Chapter 24: Editing and Visualizing 3D Solids 1028

Chapter 25: Exploring 3D Mesh and Surface Modeling  1029

Chapter 26: Customizing Toolbars, Menus, Linetypes, and Hatch Patterns  1030

Chapter 27: Managing and Sharing Your Drawings  1031

Appendix B • Installing and Setting Up AutoCAD 1033

Before Installing AutoCAD  1033

Proceeding with the Installation 1033

Configuring AutoCAD  1034

The Files Tab  1035

The Display Tab 1038

The Open And Save Tab  1040

The Plot and Publish Tab 1043

The System Tab  1043

The User Preferences Tab  1046

The Drafting Tab 1048

The 3D Modeling Tab 1050

The Selection Tab  1053

The Profiles Tab 1055

Configuring the Tablet Menu Area 1056

Turning On the Noun/Verb Selection Method 1057

Turning On the Grips Feature  1058

Setting Up the Tracking Vector Feature 1058

Adjusting AutoCAD’s 3D Graphics System 1058

The Adaptive Degradation Group 1059

The Hardware and Performance Tuning Group  1059

The Manual Performance Tuning Dialog Box  1059

Finding Hidden Folders That Contain AutoCAD Files 1061

Appendix C • About the Companion DVD  1063

What You’ll Find on the DVD  1063

Adobe Reader  1063

Tutorial Files  1064

AutoCAD 2012 Video Tutorials 1064

AutoCAD 2012 1064

AutoCAD 2012 Video Demos  1064

Autodesk Design Review  1064

Autodesk DWG TrueView 1064

ShapeBook 2009 1065

System Requirements  1065

Using the DVD  1065

Troubleshooting 1066

Customer Care 1066

Appendix D • AutoCAD Certification  1067

Index 1073