AutoCAD : professional tips and techniques

339 Pages·2007·23.61 MB·English

by  Lynn Allen, Scott Onstott

AutoCAD
®
Professional Tips
and Techniques
Lynn Allen
Scott Onstott
WILEY PUBLISHING, INC.
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AutoCAD
®
Professional Tips
and Techniques
Lynn Allen
Scott Onstott
WILEY PUBLISHING, INC.
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Acquisitions Editor: Willem Knibbe
Development Editor: Heather O’Connor
Technical Editor: Jon McFarland
Production Editor: Martine Dardignac
Copy Editor: Tiffany Taylor
Production Manager: Tim Tate
Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley
Vice President and Executive Publisher: Joseph B. Wikert
Vice President and Publisher: Dan Brodnitz
Book Designer and Compositor: Chris Gillespie, Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Proofreader: Nancy Riddiough
Indexer: Ted Laux
Anniversary Logo Design: Richard Pacifico
Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed
Cover Image: ©Ashley Cooper/Corbis
Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN-13: 978-0-470-08454-0
ISBN-10: 0-470-08454-5
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Dear Reader
Thank you for choosing AutoCAD: Professional Tips and Techniques. This book is part of a family of
premium-quality Sybex books, all written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with
a gift for teaching.
Sybex was founded in 1976. Thirty years later, we’re still committed to producing consistently excep-
tional books. With each of our titles we’re working hard to set a new standard for the industry. From the
paper we print on, to the writers and professionals we work with, our goal is to bring you the best books
available.
I hope you see all that reflected in these pages. I’d be very interested to hear your comments and get
your feedback on how we’re doing. To let us know what you think about this or any other Sybex book,
please send me an email at: [email protected]. Please also visit us at www.sybex.com to learn
more about the rest of our growing AutoCAD line.
Best regards,
Neil Edde
Vice President and Publisher
Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley
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To my fabulous husband, Craig
—Lynn Allen
To Jenn and Merlin
—Scott Onstott
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Acknowledgments
I’d like to send out a great big thank you to all of you AutoCAD users out there who
make my job worthwhile each and every day and have taught me more than I could
ever learn on my own. Thanks to Autodesk for giving me the time and space to work
on this book where needed (especially you, Kelly). Thanks to the ever-patient Willem
Knibbe, who worked overtime convincing me to write another book and turned my
No’s into a Yes. Above all, thanks to the amazingly talented Scott Onstott, who was the
real reason we were able to pull these great tips together into one action packed book.
And to Tiffany, my Maltese puppy, who sat next to me for the many hours I worked on
this book... I see many dog biscuits in your future.
—Lynn Allen
I’d like to thank Lynn Allen for co-writing this book with a person she’s met only
“virtually.” Willem Knibbe deserves extra credit for getting this book off the ground
while coordinating the efforts of two authors. Thanks to Heather O’Connor for her
work in developing the book. Jon McFarland has my appreciation for his fine technical
editorial work and his excellent suggestions. Thanks also to Tiffany Taylor for her work
as copy editor and Martine Dardignac for keeping everyone on schedule.
—Scott Onstott
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction xvii
Chapter 1 Arranging the AutoCAD User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 2 Drawing and Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Chapter 3 Annotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Chapter 4 Layouts and Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Chapter 5 Dynamic Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Chapter 6 3D Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Chapter 7 Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Chapter 8 Sharing Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Chapter 9 Plotting and Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Chapter 10 Customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Index 305
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