AutoCAD LT 2005 For Dummies

by Middlebrook, Mark

• ISBN13: 9780764572807
• ISBN10: 0764572806
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-07-23
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

Shows first-time AutoCAD LT users how to use this popular 2D technical drawing software-an easier-to-use, less feature-rich version of the industry standard AutoCAD Updated to reflect the newest features and enhancements in the latest program release, such as text tables, streamlined plot and page setup dialogue boxes, and improvements to AutoCAD's support for placing, editing, and plotting OLE objects Includes an explanation of the differences between the AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT and helps users decide which version is right for them Includes a new chapter with a hands-on overview of the typical CAD workflow: drawing objects, zooming and panning to see more detail, editing objects, adding annotations, and plotting Addresses topics such as creating a basic layout, drawing and editing, writing text in drawings, plotting, creating and editing an external reference file, applying CAD standards, and drawing on the Internet

Author Biography

<b>Mark Middlebrook</b> used to be an engineer but gave it up when he discovered that he couldn&#8217;t handle a real job. He is now 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 spell it.) Mark is also a contributing editor for <i>CADALYST</i> magazine and Webmaster of markcad.com. When he&#8217;s not busy being a cad, Mark sells and writes about wine for Paul Marcus Wines in Oakland. He also teaches literature and philosophy classes at St. Mary&#8217;s College of California &#8212; hence &#8220;Daedalus.&#8221; <i>AutoCAD LT 2005 For Dummies</i> is his second book on AutoCAD LT and his seventh on the AutoCAD family of programs.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
What's Not in This Book	p. 1
Who Are--and Aren't--You?	p. 2
How This Book Is Organized	p. 2
Icons Used in This Book	p. 4
A Few Conventions--Just in Case	p. 5
Where to Go from Here	p. 6
Lighting Up LT	p. 7
Why Be LT?	p. 9
The LT Difference	p. 9
Letting the CAD Out of the Bag	p. 11
The Importance of Being DWG	p. 13
Why Workalike Works	p. 15
AutoCAD LT 2005 Screen Test	p. 17
AutoCAD LT Does Windows--Sort Of	p. 17
Passing the LT Screen Test	p. 18
A Palette Cleanser	p. 33
Under the LT Hood	p. 35
Fun With F1	p. 38
Before You Start Drawing	p. 41
Drawing and Editing with LT	p. 41
Property Management	p. 42
Using AutoCAD DesignCenter	p. 53
Make Precision Your Passion	p. 56
Your (Drafting) Table Is Ready	p. 67
A Simple Setup	p. 68
Set the Table	p. 72
Get a Closer Look with Zoom and Pan	p. 78
Modify to Make It Merrier	p. 79
Follow the Plot	p. 86
Geometry Rules	p. 91
A Big (Drawing) Setup	p. 93
Setup Strategies	p. 94
Starting with a Template	p. 103
Master Model Space	p. 106
A Layout Later?	p. 114
Making Your Own Templates	p. 120
Draw Once	p. 123
Introducing the LT Drawing Commands	p. 124
The Straight Story: Lines, Polylines, and Polygons	p. 126
Carving Curves: Circles, Arcs, and Others	p. 136
Making Your Point(s)	p. 147
... Edit Often	p. 151
Commanding and Selecting	p. 151
Grab It	p. 153
Perfecting Selecting	p. 156
Ready, Get Set, Edit!	p. 159
Get a Grip	p. 179
Zoom It In, Zoom It Out--and Pan It All About	p. 189
Zoom and Pan with Glass and Hand	p. 189
Improve Your View	p. 193
Looking Around in Layout Land	p. 195
Degenerating and Regenerating	p. 199
Annotation for Communication	p. 201
Get Specific with Text	p. 203
Getting Ready to Write	p. 204
Using the Same Old Line	p. 211
Saying More in Multiline Text	p. 213
Setting the Text Table	p. 220
Checking Out Your Spelling	p. 224
Dimension This!	p. 227
Discovering New Dimensions	p. 229
Doing Dimensions with Style(s)	p. 233
Drawing Dimensions	p. 241
Editing Dimensions	p. 245
Pointy-Headed Leaders	p. 248
Hatch Your Fill	p. 253
Hatch ... Hatch ... Hatchoo	p. 254
Pushing the Boundary (of) Hatch	p. 256
Editing Hatch Objects	p. 262
Plotting: Waiting for Your Prints to Come In	p. 263
You Say Printing, I Say Plotting	p. 263
A Simple Plot	p. 266
Plotting the Layout of the Land	p. 272
Plotting Lineweights and Colors	p. 275
It's a (Page) Setup!	p. 283
Continuing the Plot Dialog	p. 284
Troubles with Plotting	p. 287
Collaboration Makes the Drawings Go 'Round	p. 289
Be a Block-Head (And an Xref-Man)	p. 291
Rocking with Blocks	p. 292
Going External	p. 305
Blocks, Xrefs, and Drawing Organization	p. 310
LT Is No Raster Master	p. 311
CAD Standards Rule	p. 313
Why CAD Standards?	p. 314
Which CAD Standards?	p. 315
What Needs to Be Standardized?	p. 317
Tools to Make Standards Easier	p. 320
AutoCAD LT Meets the Internet	p. 323
The Internet and LT: An Overview	p. 324
Sending Strategies	p. 326
Drawing Web Format--Not Just for the Web	p. 331
The Drawing Protection Racket	p. 337
The Part of Tens	p. 339
Ten Ways to Do No Harm	p. 341
Be Precise	p. 341
Control Properties by Layer	p. 341
Know Your Drawing Scale Factor	p. 342
Know Your Space	p. 342
Explode with Care	p. 342
Don't Cram Your Geometry	p. 342
Freeze Instead of Erase	p. 343
Use CAD Standards	p. 343
Save Drawings Regularly	p. 343
Back Up Drawings Regularly	p. 344
Ten Ways to Swap Drawing Data with Other People and Programs	p. 345
DWG	p. 347
DXF	p. 348
DWF	p. 348
PDF	p. 348
WMF	p. 349
BMP, JPEG, TIFF, and Other Raster Formats	p. 350
Windows Clipboard	p. 351
OLE	p. 351
Screen Capture	p. 353
TXT and RTF	p. 354
Ten Ways to Work in an AutoCAD World	p. 355
DWG Is Your Friend	p. 355
AutoCAD Users Are Your Friends	p. 355
A Pox on Proxies	p. 356
Forget Sheet Sets	p. 356
Raster Disaster	p. 356
Xclip Exemption	p. 357
From Flatland to 3D	p. 357
The Customization Limitation	p. 357
Other Differences	p. 358
Trading Up (or Trading Down!)	p. 358
Index	p. 359
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