AutoCAD 2015 and AutoCAD LT 2015 Essentials Autodesk Official Press

AutoCAD 2015 Essentials contains 400 pages of full-color, comprehensive instruction on the world's top drafting and architecture software. This 2015 edition features architectural, manufacturing, and landscape architecture examples. And like previous editions, the detailed guide introduces core concepts using interactive tutorials and open-ended projects, which can be completed in any order, thanks to downloadable data sets (an especially useful feature for students and professionals studying for Autodesk AutoCAD certification).

Unlike many other guides, which are organized around conceptual themes or task categories, AutoCAD 2015 Essentials takes a start-to-finish approach that mirrors how you will work with the program in the real world. Starting with basic 2D drawing and progressing through organizing objects with groups and blocks, creating and editing text, and 3D modeling, the process you'll learn in this book is ready to take to work. Inside, each chapter follows an intuitive structure:

• Quick discussions of concepts and learning goals
• Hands-on drafting tutorials for active learning and confidence building
• Open-ended projects to reinforce new drafting skills
• Downloadable end files, so you can check your work

AutoCAD 2015 Essentials is great for professionals and students who need to quickly and effectively learn the most common features of 2D and 3D design. With over 12 years of experience teaching and writing about this formidable design program, Scott Onstott provides you with everything you'll need to leverage the full capabilities of AutoCAD.

Scott Onstott is a consultant, lecturer, author, and independent video producer with 16 years of experience teaching and writing about design and visualization software. He is the author of Enhancing Architectural Drawings and Models with Photoshop and many other software training books from Sybex.

Chapter 1 Getting Started 1

Sign In to Autodesk 360 on the Dashboard 1

Explore the AutoCAD 2015 for Windows User Interface 4

Set Drawing Units 12

Chapter 2 Basic Drawing Skills 15

Navigate 2D Drawings 15

Draw Lines and Rectangles  19

Cancel, Erase, and Undo 23

Use Coordinate Systems 24

Draw Circles, Arcs, and Polygons 30

Use Fillet and Chamfer 36

Chapter 3 Using Drawing Aids 41

Use Grid and Snap 41

Employ Ortho and Polar Tracking 45

Use PolarSnap 46

Select Running Object Snaps 48

Harness the From Snap 51

Apply Object Snap Tracking 52

Chapter 4 Editing Entities 57

Create Selection Sets 57

Move and Copy 64

Rotate and Scale 68

Work with Arrays 71

Trim and Extend 74

Lengthen and Stretch 76

Offset and Mirror 77

Edit with Grips 79

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 111

Control Layer Visibility 113

Apply Linetype 119

Assign Properties by Object or by Layer 122

Manage Layer Properties 124

Isolate Objects 126

Chapter 7 Organizing Objects 129

Define Blocks 129

Insert Blocks 135

Edit Blocks 139

Redefine Blocks 145

Work with Groups 148

Chapter 8 Hatching and Gradients 151

Specify Hatch Areas 151

Associate Hatches with Boundaries 157

Hatch with Patterns 160

Hatch with Gradients 164

Chapter 9 Working with Blocks and Xrefs 167

Work with Global Blocks 167

Access Content Globally 175

Store Content on Tool Palettes 180

Reference External Drawings and Images 182

Chapter 10 Creating and Editing Text 187

Style Text 187

Write Lines of Text 189

Write and Format Paragraphs Using MTEXT 194

Edit Text 197

Chapter 11 Dimensioning 201

Style Dimensions 201

Add Dimensions 207

Edit Dimensions 215

Chapter 12 Keeping In Control with Constraints 219

Work with Geometric Constraints 219

Apply Dimensional Constraints 222

Constrain Objects Simultaneously with Geometry and Dimensions 226

Make Parametric Changes to Constrained Objects 229

Chapter 13 Working with Layouts and Annotative Objects 233

Create Annotative Styles and Objects 233

Create Layouts 239

Adjust Floating Viewports 242

Override Layer Properties in Layout Viewports 248

Draw on Layouts 250

Chapter 14 Printing and Plotting 255

Configure Output Devices 255

Create Plot Style Tables 259

Use Plot Style Tables 260

Plot in Model Space 266

Plot Layouts in Paper Space 270

Export to an Electronic Format 273

Chapter 15 Working with Data 277

Geolocate Projects 277

Import SketchUp Models 281

Define Attributes and Blocks 284

Insert Attributed Blocks 287

Edit Table Styles and Create Tables 289

Use Fields in Table Cells 294

Edit Table Data 297

Chapter 16 Navigating 3D Models 303

Use Visual Styles 303

Work with Tiled Viewports 308

Navigate with the ViewCube 309

Orbit in 3D 311

Use Cameras 313

Navigate with SteeringWheels 316

Learn to Save Views 318

Chapter 17 Modeling in 3D 321

Create Surface Models 321

Edit Surface Models 328

Create Solid Models 334

Edit Solid Models 340

Smooth Mesh Models 347

Chapter 18 Presenting and Documenting 3D Design 351

Assign Materials 351

Place and Adjust Lights 357

Create Renderings 364

Document Models with Drawings 368

Appendix Autodesk® AutoCAD 2015 Certification 375

Index 383

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.