Autocad 2007 For Dummies

AutoCAD 2007 is a premiere computer-aided designing program that lets you organize the objects you draw, their properties, and their files. It also helps you create great-looking models. But it’s not always easy to figure out how to perform these functions, and many users end up missing out on AutoCAD’s full potential.

AutoCAD 2007 For Dummies will show you how to perform these tasks and more! This hands-on guide lets you discover how to navigate around all the complications and start creating cool drawings in no time. Soon you’ll have the tools you need to use DWG, set up drawings, add text, and work with lines, as well as:

• Draw a base plate with rectangles and circles
• Organize a successful template
• Zoom and pan with glass and hand
• Use the AutoCAD design center
• Navigate through your 3-D drawing projects
• Plot layout, lineweights, and colors
• Design block definitions
• Slice and dice your drawings to create new designs
• Create a Web format using AutoCAD

This book also features suggestions and tips on how to touch up your creations as well as ways to swap drawing data with other people and programs. Written in a friendly, straightforward tone that doesn’t try to overwhelm you, AutoCAD 2007 For Dummies shows you the fun and easy way to draw precise 2-D and 3-D drawings!

David Byrnes is one of those grizzled old-timers you’ll find mentioned every so often in AutoCAD 2007 For Dummies. He began his drafting career on the boards in 1979 and discovered computer-assisted doodling shortly thereafter. He first learned AutoCAD with version 1.4, around the time when personal computers switched from steam to diesel power. Dave is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and has been an AutoCAD consultant and trainer for 15 years. Dave is a contributing editor for Cadalyst magazine and has been a contributing author to ten books on AutoCAD. He teaches AutoCAD and other computer graphics applications at Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design and British Columbia Institute of Technology in Vancouver. Dave has tech edited six AutoCAD For Dummies titles. AutoCAD 2007 For Dummies is his second goround as coauthor of this title.

Mark Middlebrook used to be an engineer but gave it up when he discovered that he couldn’t handle a real job. Since 1988, he has been principal of Daedalus Consulting, an independent CAD and computer consulting company in Oakland, California. (In case you wondered, Daedalus was the guy in ancient Greek legend who built the labyrinth on Crete. Mark named his company after Daedalus before he realized that few of his clients would be able to pronounce it and even fewer could spell it.) After having made mischief in the CAD world for 17 years, Mark now has embarked on a career in the wine world. He sells and writes about wine for Paul Marcus Wines in Oakland and develops winerelated Web sites for CruForge.

Introduction.

Part I: AutoCAD 101.

Chapter 1: Introducing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT.

Chapter 2: Le Tour de AutoCAD 2007.

Chapter 3: A Lap Around the CAD Track.

Chapter 4: Setup for Success.

Part II: Let There Be Lines.

Chapter 5: Get Ready to Draw.

Chapter 6: Where to Draw the Line.

Chapter 7: Edit for Credit.

Chapter 8: A Zoom with a View.

Chapter 9: On a 3D Spree.

Part III: If Drawings Could Talk.

Chapter 10: Text with Character.

Chapter 11: Entering New Dimensions.

Chapter 12: Down the Hatch.

Chapter 13: The Plot Thickens.

Part IV: Share and Share Alike.

Chapter 14: Playing Blocks and Rasteroids.

Chapter 15: Drawing on the Internet.

Part V: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 16: Ten Ways to Do No Harm.

Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Swap Drawing Data with Other People and Programs.

Index.