AutoCAD 2017 and AutoCAD LT 2017: Essentials

Hands-on AutoCAD 2017 instruction for a real-world workflow AutoCAD 2017 and AutoCAD LT 2017 Essentials is the unique task-based tutorial designed for both students and the professional AutoCAD user. Concise, straightforward explanations and real-world, hands-on exercises provide an authoritative, easy-to-follow guide to the platform's core features and functions. Step-by-step tutorials are backed by full-color screenshots, and each chapter ends with an open-ended project to reinforce the chapter's lessons and provide a fully immersive learning experience. The companion website features downloadable before-and-after tutorial files, so you can jump in at any point and compare your work with the pros. This new edition has been fully updated to align with AutoCAD's newest features and capabilities, and features a more approachable, easy-to-read style based on instructor and reader feedback to help you get up to speed and quickly become productive with the software. AutoCAD is the leading design and drawing software, and an essential skill for designers, architects, and engineers. Whether you're new to the software, upgrading, or preparing for certification, this no-nonsense guide is your ideal resource for complete AutoCAD instruction. Master 2D drawing using splines, polylines, layers, and objects Add detail with hatching, gradients, text, and dimensions Convert your design into a 3D model for a walk-through tour Import, print, edit, and present your final design By following a real-world professional workflow throughout the learning process, you develop a highly relevant set of skills that easily transfer into real-world projects. This book walks you through the design of a house, emphasizing skills rather than tools to equip you with an array of solutions for any AutoCAD task. If you're serious about AutoCAD and ready to get down to work, AutoCAD 2017 and AutoCAD LT 2017 Essentials is the guide you need at your fingertips.

Table of Contents:
Introduction xv Chapter 1 Getting Started 1 Sign In to Autodesk 360 on the Start Tab 1 Exercise 1.1: Configure Autodesk 360  1 Explore the AutoCAD 2017 for Windows User Interface 4 Exercise 1.2: Explore the Graphical User Interface  4 Exercise 1.3: Control the AutoCAD Ribbon  9 Set Drawing Units 13 Exercise 1.4: Set the AutoCAD Drawing Units 14 Chapter 2 Gaining Basic Drawing Skills 17 Navigate 2D Drawings  17 Exercise 2.1: Navigate a Drawing 17 Draw Lines and Rectangles  21 Exercise 2.2: Draw Lines  21 Exercise 2.3: Draw Rectangles 24 Cancel, Erase, and Undo  26 Exercise 2.4: Correct Mistakes 26 Use Coordinate Systems  27 Exercise 2.5: Use Absolute Coordinates  28 Exercise 2.6: Use Relative Coordinates 28 Exercise 2.7: Use Polar Coordinates 29 Draw Circles, Arcs, and Polygons 33 Exercise 2.8: Create Circles  33 Exercise 2.9: Create Arcs  36 Exercise 2.10: Draw Polygons  38 Use Fillet and Chamfer 40 Exercise 2.11: Join Nonparallel Lines  40 Exercise 2.12: Join Crossed Lines with Fillet  41 Chapter 3 Using Drawing Aids 43 Use Grid and Snap 43 Exercise 3.1: Draw with Grid and Snap  44 Employ Ortho and Polar Tracking  47 Exercise 3.2: Draw with Ortho and Polar Tracking 47 Use PolarSnap  49 Exercise 3.3: Draw with PolarSnap  49 Select Running Object Snaps  51 Exercise 3.4: Draw with Running Object Snaps 51 Harness the From Snap 54 Exercise 3.5: Use the From Snap 54 Apply Object Snap Tracking  55 Exercise 3.6: Use Object Snap Tracking  55 Chapter 4 Editing Entities 59 Create Selection Sets 59 Exercise 4.1: Create a Selection Set at the Select Objects: Prompt 60 Exercise 4.2: Create a Selection Set Before Deciding on a Command  62 Use Move and Copy  66 Exercise 4.3: Move and Copy  66 Use Rotate and Scale 70 Exercise 4.4: Rotate and Scale 70 Work with Arrays  73 Exercise 4.5: Create a Rectangular Array 73 Exercise 4.6: Create a Polar Array 75 Use Trim and Extend 76 Exercise 4.7: Trim and Measure  77 Use Lengthen and Stretch 78 Exercise 4.8: Lengthen and Stretch 78 Use Offset and Mirror 79 Exercise 4.9: Offset and Mirror 80 Edit with Grips  82 Exercise 4.10: Edit with Grips  82 Chapter 5 Shaping Curves 85 Draw and Edit Curved Polylines  85 Exercise 5.1: Draw and Edit Curved Polylines 85 Draw Ellipses 91 Exercise 5.2: Draw Ellipses  91 Shape Splines 93 Exercise 5.3: Work with Control Vertices 94 Exercise 5.4: Work with Fit Points  98 Blend Between Objects with Splines  101 Exercise 5.5: Blend Splines 102 Chapter 6 Controlling Object Visibility and Appearance 105 Change Object Properties  105 Exercise 6.1: Edit Object Properties  106 Set the Current Layer 109 Exercise 6.2: Choose the Current Layer 110 Alter the Layer Assignments of Objects 113 Exercise 6.3: Assign Layers 113 Control Layer Visibility  116 Exercise 6.4: Toggle Layer Status  116 Exercise 6.5: Isolate Layers 118 Exercise 6.6: Save Layer States  120 Apply Linetype 122 Exercise 6.7: Use Linetype  122 Assign Properties by Object or by Layer 125 Exercise 6.8: Assign Properties  125 Manage Layer Properties 126 Exercise 6.9: Control Layer Properties  126 Isolate Objects 128 Exercise 6.10: Isolate and Hide Individual Objects  128 Chapter 7 Organizing Objects 131 Define Blocks  131 Exercise 7.1: Draw a Chair and Define It as a Block 132 Exercise 7.2: Draw a Door and Define It as a Block  135 Insert Blocks  137 Exercise 7.3: Use Blocks 137 Edit Blocks 141 Exercise 7.4: Edit Block Definitions  142 Exercise 7.5: Assign Floating Properties  143 Exercise 7.6: Nest Blocks 145 Exercise 7.7: Explode Blocks  147 Redefine Blocks  148 Exercise 7.8: Redefine Block Definitions  148 Work with Groups  151 Exercise 7.9: Create Groups  151 Chapter 8 Hatching and Gradients 155 Specify Hatch Areas 155 Exercise 8.1: Pick Points to Determine Boundaries 155 Exercise 8.2: Select Objects to Define Boundaries  159 Associate Hatches with Boundaries  161 Exercise 8.3: Associate Boundaries  161 Hatch with Patterns 163 Exercise 8.4: Specify Properties 164 Exercise 8.5: Separate Hatch Areas  165 Hatch with Gradients  168 Exercise 8.6: Create Gradients  168 Chapter 9 Working with Blocks and Xrefs 171 Work with Global Blocks 171 Exercise 9.1: Write a Local Block Definition to a File  171 Exercise 9.2: Insert a Drawing as a Local Block  175 Exercise 9.3: Redefine Local Blocks with Global Blocks  177 Access Content Globally 179 Exercise 9.4: Access Global Content  179 Store Content on Tool Palettes  185 Exercise 9.5: Add to the Tool Palettes 185 Reference External Drawings and Images 187 Exercise 9.6: Use Xrefs  188 Chapter 10 Creating and Editing Text 193 Style Text 193 Exercise 10.1: Create Text Styles 193 Write Lines of Text  195 Exercise 10.2: Create Text to Fit 195 Exercise 10.3: Justify Text  197 Exercise 10.4: Transform and Create Text 198 Write and Format Paragraphs Using MTEXT  201 Exercise 10.5: Write and Format with MTEXT  201 Edit Text  204 Exercise 10.6: Edit Content and Properties  205 Exercise 10.7: Work with Columns 206 Chapter 11 Dimensioning 209 Style Dimensions 209 Exercise 11.1: Create Dimension Styles 210 Add Dimensions  215 Exercise 11.2: Use Inquiry Commands  216 Exercise 11.3: Add Dimension Objects  218 Exercise 11.4: Add and Style Multileaders 221 Edit Dimensions  223 Exercise 11.5: Alter Dimension Objects 223 Chapter 12 Keeping In Control with Constraints 227 Work with Geometric Constraints 227 Exercise 12.1: Use Geometric Constraints 227 Apply Dimensional Constraints  230 Exercise 12.2: Create Dimensional Constraints  231 Constrain Objects Simultaneously with Geometry and Dimensions  234 Exercise 12.3: Use Simultaneous Constraints  234 Make Parametric Changes to Constrained Objects 236 Exercise 12.4: Alter Constraint Parameters  237 Chapter 13 Working with Layouts and Annotative Objects 239 Create Annotative Styles and Objects 239 Exercise 13.1: Work with Annotative Text 240 Exercise 13.2: Work with Annotative Dimensions 243 Create Layouts 245 Exercise 13.3: Configure Layouts  245 Adjust Floating Viewports  249 Exercise 13.4: Work on Layout1 249 Exercise 13.5: Work on Layout2 252 Override Layer Properties in Layout Viewports 255 Exercise 13.6: Override Layer Properties  255 Draw on Layouts 257 Exercise 13.7: Lay Out Geometry  257 Chapter 14 Printing and Plotting 261 Configure Output Devices  261 Exercise 14.1: Set Up a System Printer  262 Exercise 14.2: Set Up an AutoCAD Plotter 262 Create Plot Style Tables  265 Exercise 14.3: Create a Named Plot Style Table 265 Use Plot Style Tables  267 Exercise 14.4: Configure New Drawings for Named Plot Style Tables 267 Exercise 14.5: Assign Plot Styles by Layer or by Object 270 Plot in Model Space 273 Exercise 14.6: Plot from Model Space 273 Plot Layouts in Paper Space  277 Exercise 14.7: Plot from Paper Space 277 Export to an Electronic Format 280 Exercise 14.8: Export to DWF 281 Exercise 14.9: Export to PDF 282 Exercise 14.10: Share Design Views 284 Chapter 15 Working with Data 287 Geolocate Projects  287 Exercise 15.1: Geolocate a Drawing  288 Import SketchUp Models 292 Exercise 15.2: Import a SketchUp Model  292 Define Attributes and Blocks  293 Exercise 15.3: Define Attributes and a Block 294 Insert Attributed Blocks 298 Exercise 15.4: Insert Block References with Attributes 298 Edit Table Styles and Create Tables 300 Exercise 15.5: Alter a Table Style and Make a Table  300 Use Fields in Table Cells  305 Exercise 15.6: Create Fields  305 Edit Table Data 308 Exercise 15.7: Alter Table Data  308 Chapter 16 Navigating 3D Models 317 Use Visual Styles 317 Exercise 16.1: Explore Visual Styles  318 Work with Tiled Viewports 322 Exercise 16.2: Tile Viewports 322 Navigate with the ViewCube  324 Exercise 16.3: Use the ViewCube to Navigate 324 Orbit in 3D  326 Exercise 16.4: Orbit 326 Use Cameras 328 Exercise 16.5: Utilize Virtual Cameras  328 Navigate with SteeringWheels 331 Exercise 16.6: Use SteeringWheels to Navigate 331 Save Views  334 Exercise 16.7: Save Views  334 Chapter 17 Modeling in 3D 337 Create Surface Models 337 Exercise 17.1: Make Planar Surfaces  338 Exercise 17.2: Revolve a 2D Profile to Create a 3D Model 339 Exercise 17.3: Sweep Out 3D Geometry 340 Exercise 17.4: Extrude 2D Geometry into 3D  342 Edit Surface Models 344 Exercise 17.5: Trim Surfaces with Other Surfaces 344 Exercise 17.6: Project Edges on Surfaces  345 Exercise 17.7: Trim Surfaces with Edges  348 Create Solid Models 350 Exercise 17.8: Extrude Solid Objects 350 Exercise 17.9: Loft Solid Objects 354 Edit Solid Models 356 Exercise 17.10: Perform Boolean Operations 356 Exercise 17.11: Edit Solids  359 Smooth Mesh Models  363 Exercise 17.12: Create, Edit, and Smooth Mesh 363 Live-Section Models 365 Exercise 17.13: Create and Edit a Section Plane  365 Chapter 18 Presenting and Documenting 3D Design 369 Assign Materials  370 Exercise 18.1: Apply Materials  370 Place and Adjust Lights  376 Exercise 18.2: Add Artificial Lights  376 Exercise 18.3: Simulate Natural Light  382 Create Renderings  383 Exercise 18.4: Make More Realistic Renderings in the Cloud  383 Document Models with Drawings  387 Exercise 18.5: Document Models  387 Appendix A Making Isometric Drawings 393 Appendix B Autodesk® AutoCAD 2017 Certification 399 Index 403

About the Author :
About the Author Scott Onstott is a consultant, former university instructor, and independent video producer with more than 17 years of experience teaching and writing about design visualization software. He is the author of the five 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.