- Introduction
- Creating a New Drawing
- Model Space and Layout Space
- Communicating with AutoCAD
- Object Snaps, Ortho Mode, and Polar Tracking
- Undo/Redo
- Grid and Snap
- Draw a Circle
- Navigating Around the Drawing
- Object Properties
- Layers
- Dimension Styles
- Dimensioning
- Modifying Drawing Objects
- Grip Editing
- Introduction to Advanced Editing Techniques
- Cleaning Up Layout Space
- Plotting and Page Setups
- Chapter Summary
- Chapter Test Questions
Chapter Summary
You have now walked through a typical AutoCAD drawing session. In this chapter we have gone through the steps to quickly create a new drawing based on an existing AutoCAD template drawing that already has a title block and border established. We saw that templates help us to be more productive by saving the time it would normally take to create a border each time we start a new drawing. They also help promote CAD standards by having everything preestablished.
We then created a simple drawing using AutoCAD’s precision drawing tools and then modified it using different AutoCAD modify commands and techniques, including grips. Then, after most of the line work was complete, we annotated the drawing by adding associated dimensions that automatically update when the drawing is modified, and we created title block text that included a field to automatically insert the drawing name.
In the final steps, we set the drawing up to plot on an 8 12 × 11 (ANSI A) paper size by setting the drawing scale to 1:2 using the predefined Viewport Scale list on the right side of the status bar. Because we took advantage of AutoCAD’s automated Annotation Scale feature, we then had to adjust the location of the dimensions that were automatically scaled up. After everything was nice and tidy, we plotted the drawing using the default Windows system printer.