Paul Richard has worked in the CAD/BIM field for more than 35 years, first starting as a CAD drafter/designer in 1985. Since then, he has worked in the AEC industry as a CAD manager, CAD instructor, author, and software developer. In his spare time, Paul likes riding and working on motorcycles.

Part One An Introduction to AutoCAD
Chapter 1 Introduction to AutoCAD 1
Chapter Objectives 1
Introduction 1
What Is CAD? 1
Fundamental CAD Concepts 4
Drawing Actual Size 4
The Cartesian Coordinate System 5
Right-Hand Rule 5
Grid Units 6
Angle Measurement 7
Annotation Scale 8
Object Properties 9
Colors 10
Linetypes 11
Lineweights 12
Transparency 13
Controlling Object Properties 13
Model Space and Paper Space 13
AutoCAD File Types 14
A First Look at AutoCAD 15
The Start Tab 15
File Tab Menu 17
The AutoCAD User Interface 18
Workspaces 20
Quick Access Toolbar 20
Application Menu 22
Ribbon 24
Tooltips 28
The Command Line Window 29
Dynamic Input 35
Right-Click Shortcut Menus 37
Accessing Recent Input 37
Status Bar 38
In-Canvas Viewport Control 40
ViewCube 41
Navigation Bar 42
Dialog Boxes 43
Palettes 43
Keyboard Commands 47
InfoCenter 49
Getting Help 50
Chapter Summary 52
Chapter Test Questions 52
Chapter 2 Quick Start Tutorial 55
Chapter Objectives 55
Introduction 55
Creating a New Drawing 55
Using a Template 56
Saving Your Work 56
File Safety Precautions 58
Model Space and Layout Space 59
The Layout Menu 60
Viewports 60
Communicating with AutoCAD 62
The Command Line 62
Dynamic Input 62
Object Snaps, Ortho Mode, and Polar Tracking 65
Undo/Redo 66
Grid and Snap 67
Draw a Circle 68
Navigating Around the Drawing 69
Zooming with a Wheel Mouse 71
Object Properties 71
Layers 73
Freeze and Thaw a Layer 77
Lock and Unlock a Layer 78
Dimension Styles 79
Dimensioning 83
Modifying Drawing Objects 86
Selection Sets 86
Grip Editing 88
Introduction to Advanced Editing Techniques 93
Making Parallel Copies 93
Fixing Overlapping Lines and Closing Gaps 94
Cleaning Up Layout Space 96
Setting the Viewport Scale 96
Text 99
Plotting and Page Setups 102
Plotting 105
Chapter Summary 107
Chapter Test Questions 107
Part Two Drafting Skills: Drawing with AutoCAD
Chapter 3 Controlling the Drawing Display 111
Chapter Objectives 111
Introduction 111
Zooming In and Out of a Drawing 111
Zoom Tools 112
Using the Mouse Wheel 117
Panning Around a Drawing 118
The Pan Tool 118
Using the Middle Mouse Button 120
Panning and Zooming Transparently 121
Chapter Summary 123
Chapter Test Questions 123
Chapter Project 125
Chapter 4 Basic Drawing Commands 127
Chapter Objectives 127
Introduction 127
Drawing Setup 127
Templates 128
Units 128
Setting the Drawing Area 131
Drawing Lines 131
Coordinate Entry Methods 132
Cartesian Coordinates 132
Absolute Versus Relative Coordinate Entry 134
Polar Coordinates 135
Dynamic Input 136
Drawing Circles 137
Center Radius 137
Center Diameter 138
2 Point Circle 139
3 Point Circle 139
Tangent Tangent Radius 140
Drawing Arcs 141
The ARC Command 142
3 Point Arc 142
Arc Options 142
Using the ARC Command 143
Drawing Ellipses 144
Elliptical Arcs 146
Points 147
Point Styles 147
Measure and Divide 149
Chapter Summary 151
Chapter Test Questions 151
Chapter Projects 154
Chapter 5 Drawing Tools and Drafting Settings 159
Chapter Objectives 159
Introduction 159
Grid Mode 161
Setting the Grid Style 162
Setting the Grid Spacing 162
Controlling Grid Mode Behavior 162
Snap Mode 163
Setting the Snap Spacing 163
Setting the Snap Type and Style 164
Ortho Mode 165
Polar Tracking 166
Setting the Polar Tracking Angle and Measurement Method 167
Object Snaps 169
Object Snap Modes 170
Basic Object Snaps 172
Advanced Object Snap Modes 181
Object Snap Tracking 185
Temporary Tracking 186
Object Snap Tracking 187
Intersecting Alignment Paths 187
Dynamic Input 190
Pointer Input 190
Dimension Input 190
Dynamic Prompts 191
Dynamic Input Settings 191
Using Construction Lines 194
The XLINE Command 194
The RAY Command 204
Chapter Summary 205
Chapter Test Questions 205
Chapter Projects 208
Chapter 6 Managing Object Properties 213
Chapter Objectives 213
Introduction 213
Common Object Properties 213
Layers 214
The LAYER Command 214
Layer Name List 215
Deleting a Layer 227
Layer Settings 228
Using Layers 230
Linetype Scale 231
Hard-Coded Versus Soft-Coded Properties 232
Setting the Default Object Properties 232
Color Control and Management 233
Linetype Control and Management 233
Lineweight Control and Management 235
Transparency Control and Management 235
Changing the Properties of Objects 236
The Properties Palette 236
The Properties Panel 238
Quick Properties 238
Copying Properties Between Objects 240
Creating Objects with Properties Based on Existing Objects 240
Using DesignCenter to Import Layers 242
Layer Filters 243
The Filter Tree 244
Property Filters 244
Group Filters 246
Search Filter 247
Layer States Manager 247
Object Visibility 249
Chapter Summary 250
Chapter Test Questions 250
Chapter Projects 253
Part Three Understanding Editing Techniques: Basics Through Advanced
Chapter 7 Basic Editing Techniques 259
Chapter Objectives 259
Introduction 259
The ERASE Command 261
Selecting Objects for Editing 261
Selecting Objects Individually 262
Selecting Multiple Objects 265
Advanced Selection Techniques 271
Selecting Similar Objects 271
Grouping Objects 272
Moving Objects 274
Copying Objects 277
Mirroring Objects 279
Mirroring Text 280
Rotating Objects 281
Rotating and Copying Objects 283
Scaling Objects 284
Scaling and Copying Objects 286
Stretching Objects 287
Selecting Objects First 290
Using Grips to Edit 291
Multifunctional Grips 291
Controlling Grips 291
Selecting Grips 292
Grip Modes 293
Chapter Summary 295
Chapter Test Questions 295
Chapter Projects 298
Chapter 8 Advanced Editing Techniques 305
Chapter Objectives 305
Introduction 305
Offsetting Objects 306
Offsetting an Object a Specified Distance 306
Offsetting Through a Point 306
Offset Options 307
Arraying Objects 308
Creating a Rectangular Array 309
Creating a Path Array 311
Creating a Polar Array 313
Trimming and Extending Objects 315
Trimming Objects 315
Extending Objects 318
Creating Fillets and Chamfers 321
Creating Fillets 321
Capping Two Parallel Lines Using the Fillet Tool 323
Creating Chamfers 325
Breaking an Object 327
Creating a Gap in an Object 327
Breaking Circles, Xlines, and Rays 328
Selecting the Second Points 328
Break at Point 329
Joining Multiple Objects 330
Lengthening an Object 331
The LENGTHEN Command Options 331
Invalid Objects 332
Chapter Summary 333
Chapter Test Questions 333
Chapter Projects 336
Part Four Working with Complex Objects
Chapter 9 Drawing and Editing Complex Objects 343
Chapter Objectives 343
Introduction 343
Drawing Polylines 344
Drawing Polyline Arcs 346
Drawing Polylines with a Width 351
Drawing Rectangles 352
Drawing Polygons 356
Drawing Donuts 358
Drawing Revision Clouds 359
Changing the Arc Length 360
Switching Styles 361
Creating Revision Clouds from Existing Objects 361
Editing Revision Clouds 361
Editing Polylines 363
Closing and Opening Polylines 363
Joining Polylines 364
Changing the Polyline Width 366
Editing Polyline Vertices 366
Converting Polylines into Smooth Curves 367
Controlling Polyline Linetype Generation 369
Reversing a Polyline 369
Editing Polylines Using Grips 369
Exploding Complex Objects 370
Chapter Summary 371
Chapter Test Questions 371
Chapter Projects 374
Chapter 10 Pattern Fills and Hatching 381
Chapter Objectives 381
Introduction 381
Hatching 381
Selecting a Hatch Area 382
Controlling Hatch Settings and Options 384
Gradient Fills 394
Two-Color Gradient 394
One-Color Gradient 395
Gradient Pattern 395
Editing Hatch Patterns 396
Using the Hatch Editor Context Tab of the Ribbon 396
Using the Hatch Edit Dialog Box 396
Using the Properties Palette 397
Trimming Hatches 397
Exploding Hatches 398
Using DesignCenter with Hatch Patterns 398
Chapter Summary 400
Chapter Test Questions 400
Chapter Projects 403
Part Five Annotating Drawings
Chapter 11 Adding Text 407
Chapter Objectives 407
Introduction 407
Controlling the Appearance of Text 408
Fonts 409
Text Height 410
Annotation Scale 410
Text Styles 411
The Text Style Dialog Box 413
Creating Multiline Text 417
The In-Place Multiline Text Editor 420
The Text Editor Context Tab of the Ribbon 423
The Right-Click Menu 433
Stacked Text 436
Creating Single-Line Text 438
The Right-Click Menu 440
Single-Line Text Justification 441
Inserting Special Symbols in Single-Line Text 443
Text Fields 444
Inserting Text Fields 446
Editing Text Fields 448
Editing Text 449
Editing Text Content 449
Editing Text Using the Properties Palette 450
Text Alignment 452
Scaling Text 452
Changing Text Justification 453
Finding and Replacing Text 454
The Spell Checker 457
The Combine Text Tool 461
Chapter Summary 462
Chapter Test...