AutoCAD 2016 and AutoCAD LT 2016 Essentials: Autodesk Official Press

Learn AutoCAD 2016 quickly and painlessly with this practical hands-on guide AutoCAD 2016 Essentials gets you up to speed quickly, with hands-on instruction on the program's core features and functions. This new edition provides more manufacturing and landscape examples, a stronger emphasis on skills rather than tools, starting and ending files for every exercise, and a more clearly defined layout that separates the step-by-step instructions from the "why" discussion. Based on the real-world task of designing a house, the hands-on exercises help you quickly develop confidence and become productive with the software as you master the major 2D functions and move into 3D modeling. From layout to presentation, this in-depth guide takes you through the entire design process, and provides downloadable data so you can compare your work to the pros. If you're preparing for AutoCAD certification, this book is the ideal study guide — and the only one officially endorsed by Autodesk. This book is your unique learning resource that features concise, straightforward explanations and hands-on exercises. Each chapter opens with a quick discussion of concepts, and then briskly moves into an approachable, practical tutorial that helps you gain confidence in your new AutoCAD 2016 skills. Master the AutoCAD interface and basic 2D drawing skills Work with splines, polylines, hatch patterns, and gradients Organize objects with layers, groups, blocks, and cross-referencing Use constraints and layouts, print and export, model in 3D, and much more If you're a design professional, AutoCAD is need-to-know software. You have to be comfortable with it to be productive. AutoCAD 2016 Essentials gets you up and running quickly, with patient instruction and plenty of hands-on practice.

Table of Contents:
Introduction xi Chapter 1 Getting Started 1 Sign In to Autodesk 360 on the Start Tab 1 Explore the AutoCAD 2016 for Windows User Interface 4 Set Drawing Units 12 Chapter 2 Gaining Basic Drawing Skills 15 Navigate 2D Drawings 15 Draw Lines and Rectangles 19 Cancel, Erase, and Undo 24 Use Coordinate Systems 25 Draw Circles, Arcs, and Polygons 31 Use Fillet and Chamfer 38 Chapter 3 Using Drawing Aids 41 Use Grid and Snap 41 Employ Ortho and Polar Tracking 45 Use PolarSnap 47 Select Running Object Snaps 49 Harness the From Snap 52 Apply Object Snap Tracking 53 Chapter 4 Editing Entities 57 Create Selection Sets 57 Use Move and Copy 64 Use Rotate and Scale 68 Work with Arrays 71 Use Trim and Extend 75 Use Lengthen and Stretch 76 Use Offset and Mirror 78 Edit with Grips 80 Chapter 5 Shaping Curves 83 Draw and Edit Curved Polylines 83 Draw Ellipses 89 Shape Splines 92 Blend Between Objects with Splines 99 Chapter 6 Controlling Object Visibility and Appearance 103 Change Object Properties 103 Set the Current Layer 107 Alter the Layer Assignments of Objects 110 Control Layer Visibility 114 Apply Linetype 119 Assign Properties by Object or by Layer 123 Manage Layer Properties 124 Isolate Objects 126 Chapter 7 Organizing Objects 129 Define Blocks 129 Insert Blocks 135 Edit Blocks 140 Redefine Blocks 146 Work with Groups 149 Chapter 8 Hatching and Gradients 153 Specify Hatch Areas 153 Associate Hatches with Boundaries 159 Hatch with Patterns 162 Hatch with Gradients 166 Chapter 9 Working with Blocks and Xrefs 171 Work with Global Blocks 171 Access Content Globally 180 Store Content on Tool Palettes 186 Reference External Drawings and Images 190 Chapter 10 Creating and Editing Text 195 Style Text 195 Write Lines of Text 197 Write and Format Paragraphs Using MTEXT 203 Edit Text 206 Chapter 11 Dimensioning 211 Style Dimensions 211 Add Dimensions 218 Edit Dimensions 226 Chapter 12 Keeping In Control with Constraints 231 Work with Geometric Constraints 231 Apply Dimensional Constraints 234 Constrain Objects Simultaneously with Geometry and Dimensions 238 Make Parametric Changes to Constrained Objects 241 Chapter 13 Working with Layouts and Annotative Objects 245 Create Annotative Styles and Objects 245 Create Layouts 251 Adjust Floating Viewports 255 Override Layer Properties in Layout Viewports 261 Draw on Layouts 263 Chapter 14 Printing and Plotting 267 Configure Output Devices 267 Create Plot Style Tables 271 Use Plot Style Tables 273 Plot in Model Space 279 Plot Layouts in Paper Space 283 Export to an Electronic Format 287 Chapter 15 Working with Data 291 Geolocate Projects 291 Import SketchUp Models 296 Define Attributes and Blocks 297 Insert Attributed Blocks 302 Edit Table Styles and Create Tables 304 Use Fields in Table Cells 309 Edit Table Data 312 Chapter 16 Navigating 3D Models 321 Use Visual Styles 321 Work with Tiled Viewports 326 Navigate with the ViewCube 328 Orbit in 3D 330 Use Cameras 332 Navigate with SteeringWheels 335 Save Views 338 Chapter 17 Modeling in 3D 341 Create Surface Models 341 Edit Surface Models 348 Create Solid Models 354 Edit Solid Models 360 Smooth Mesh Models 367 Live-Section Models 370 Chapter 18 Presenting and Documenting 3D Design 373 Assign Materials 374 Place and Adjust Lights 380 Create Renderings 387 Document Models with Drawings 391 Appendix Autodesk® AutoCAD 2016 Certification 397 Index 401

About the Author :
About the Author Scott Onstott is a consultant, former university instructor, author, and independent video producer with more than 16 years of experience teaching and writing about design visualization software. He is the author of the three previous editions of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Essentials, Photoshop CS6 Essentials, Enhancing Architectural Drawings and Models with Photoshop, and five other software training books published by Sybex.