Inside autocad 2002

Find out how to use dimensions, explore 3D modeling, learn how to plot, and learn about dozens of other features just waiting to be utilized.

Contents

• Introduction xxxv

• 1 What's New in AutoCAD 2002 5
  • The Seventeenth Release of AutoCAD 6
  • Internet Improvements 6
  • System Enhancements 12
  • Empowered Output 16
  • Increased Functionality 19
  • Strengthened Modifiers 22
  • Summary 26

• 2 Starting a Drawing in AutoCAD 2002 31
  • The Startup Dialog Box 32
  • Controlling Drawing Settings 44
  • Summary 48
• 3 Controlling the AutoCAD 2002 Drawing Environment 51
  • Specifying Search Paths and Filenames 52
  • Options for Display 55
  • Open and Save Settings 60
  • Setting Plotting Options 65
  • Configuring the System 66
  • Setting User Preferences 71
  • Choosing Drafting Options 76
  • Controlling Selection Methods 79
  • Saving the Options to a Profile 81
  • Summary 87
• 4 Organizing a Drawing with Layers 89
  • The Layer Properties Manager 91
  • Standardizing Layer Names 91
  • Controlling Object Properties 94
  • Controlling Object Behavior 103
  • Using Layer Filters 108
  • Using Layer States 115
  • Summary 118
• 5 Using Linetypes and Lineweights Effectively 121
  • Working with Existing Linetypes 122
  • Assigning Linetypes 122
  • Creating and Using Custom Linetypes 130
  • Working with Lineweights 139
  • Summary 145

• 6 Accuracy in Creating Drawings with AutoCAD 2002 149
  • Coordinate Systems 150
  • Changing Coordinate Systems 160
  • Setting Up Drafting Settings 174
  • Using Auto Track 186
  • From and Apparent Intersection Osnaps 192
  • Extension and Parallel Osnaps 194
  • Construction Lines and Rays 196
  • Summary 197
• 7 Creating Elementary Objects 199
  • Using the Line Command 200
  • Using the ARC Command 205
  • Using the Circle Command 210
  • Using the Polygon Command 214
  • Drawing Ellipses 216
  • Summary 225
• 8 Creating Polylines and Splines 227
  • Polylines Versus Lines 228
  • Creating Polylines 229
  • Polyline Types 235
  • The 3DPOLY Command 237
  • Editing Polylines 237
  • Creating True Splines 248
  • Controlling Splines with Splinedit 250
  • Summary 254
• 9 Understanding the Query Features in AutoCAD 2002 257
  • Obtaining Object Information 258
  • Inquiry Tools 260
  • Querying for Areas in Blocks and Xrefs 263
  • Understanding Block Attributes 265
  • Attribute Tools 269
  • Extracting Block and Attribute Data 273
  • Summary 278
• 10 Basic Object Editing 281
  • Assembling a Selection Set 282
  • Recovering from Unintentional Edits 292
  • Resizing Objects 295
  • Relocating Objects Using MOVE and ROTATE 303
  • Duplicating Objects 305
  • Chamfering Corners 313
  • Filleting Objects 317
  • Summary 321
• 11 Advanced Geometry Editing 323
  • Windows Functionality in AutoCAD 324
  • Grip Editing 328
  • Changing an Object's Properties 338
  • Using Quick Select 344
  • Using Object Selection Filters 348
  • Creating and Editing Groups 351
  • Exploding Compound Objects 354
  • Specialized Editing Commands 355
  • Lengthening and Shortening Objects 360
  • Aligning Objects 360
  • Renaming Named Objects 363
  • Deleting Named Objects 365
  • Summary 368
• 12 Applications for AutoCAD DesignCenter 371
  • Understanding the AutoCAD DesignCenter Interface 372
  • Loading Content into DesignCenter 378
  • Adding Content to Drawings 384
  • Summary 387
• 13 Creating and Using Blocks 389
  • Understanding Blocks 390
  • Redefining Blocks with In-Place Reference Editing 408
  • Using Nested Blocks 412
  • Managing Blocks Effectively 413
  • Summary 415
• 14 Working with Drawings and External References Productively 417
  • Working with Drawings Productively 418
  • Working with External References Productively 423
  • Managing Xrefs 436
  • Summary 451

• 15 Text Annotation 455
  • Drawing Single-Line Text 456
  • Editing Single-Line Text 462
  • Defining Text Styles 464
  • Drawing Paragraphs of Text with MTEXT 470
  • Performing a Spelling Check 475
  • Looking at Additional Text Options 477
  • Text Property Modification 479
  • Creating Your Own Shape File 480
  • Summary 481
• 16 Drawing Hatch Patterns 483
  • Creating Hatch Patterns Using BHATCH 484
  • Editing Hatch Patterns 498
  • Other Hatching Considerations 500
  • Customizing Hatch Patterns 503
  • Using BOUNDARY to Delineate Areas and Islands 505
  • Summary 505
• 17 Productive Dimensioning 507
  • Becoming Proficient at Productive Dimensioning 508
  • Other Dimensions 516
  • Increasing Productivity with Third-Party Programs 524
  • Dimension Placement in the Drawing 525
  • Improving Productivity: Tips and Techniques 526
  • Summary 527
• 18 Advanced Dimensioning 529
  • Defining Dimension Styles 530
  • Modifying Dimensions 544
  • Associative Dimensioning 555
  • Summary 561
• 19 Paper Space Layouts 563
  • Using Paper Space Layouts 564
  • Working with Viewports in a Layout 573
  • Summary 593
• 20 Productive Plotting 595
  • Configuring a Plotter 596
  • Defining Plot Styles 604
  • Creating Page Setups 614
  • Plotting from AutoCAD 2002 621
  • Summary 625

• 21 Customizing Without Programming 629
  • Creating Command Aliases 630
  • Customizing AutoCAD Toolbars 633
  • Adding a Command to the Cursor Menu 639
  • Scripts and Slides 643
  • Summary 646
• 22 Introduction to AutoLISP Programming 649
  • Introducing AutoLISP 650
  • Using AutoLISP for Keyboard Macros 652
  • Creating a Simple AutoLISP Program 658
  • Understanding ACAD.LSP and ACADDOC.LSP 668
  • A Brief Look at Visual LISP 669
  • Summary 671
• 23 Effective Applications for OLE Objects in AutoCAD 2002 673
  • Understanding Object Linking and Embedding 674
  • Importing Objects into AutoCAD Using OLE 675
  • Controlling OLE Object Properties 680
  • Working with Linked OLE Objects 693
  • Exporting AutoCAD Objects by Using OLE 695
  • Summary 699
• 24 Using External Databases 701
  • Setting Up AutoCAD to Work with External Databases 702
  • Working with Database Tables 710
  • Working with Data and Objects 722
  • Using Queries 731
  • Summary 735

• 25 Publishing on the Web 739
  • AutoCAD 2002: Where Design Connects to the Web 740
  • Understanding the Capabilities of the Web-Oriented AutoCAD 2002 742
  • Viewing Design Data on the Web 746
  • URLs as First-Class Citizens 746
  • Viewing DWG Files 758
  • Viewing DWF Files with WHIP! 759
  • Preparing Your Drawings for the Web 762
  • ePlot 768
  • Publishing Drawings to the Web 770
  • Summary 776
• 26 Project Collaboration over the Internet 779
  • Coordination and the Iterative Design Process 780
  • Collaborative Internet Technologies 783
  • Internet Xrefs 787
  • Case Study Background: Architekton 789
  • Implementation 792
  • Going Live Online 794
  • Taking the Architekton Tour 797
  • Summary 811

• 27 Introduction to 3D 815
  • Understanding 3D Coordinate Systems 816
  • Defining a User Coordinate System in 3D Space 818
  • Using Viewports 829
  • Interactive Viewing in 3D 835
  • Shading a Model 845
  • Summary 847
• 28 Drawing in 3D in AutoCAD 849
  • Working with Lines, Polylines, and 3D Polylines 850
  • Using Object Snaps and Point Filters 854
  • 3D AutoCAD Editing Commands 860
  • Extend, Trim, and Other Editing Commands in 3D 870
  • Working with Regions 873
  • Summary 876
• 29 Surfacing in 3D 879
  • Basic Surfacing Techniques 880
  • Working with Advanced Surfacing Commands 884
  • Considering 3D Meshes 896
  • Editing Mesh Surfaces 897
  • Summary 898
• 30 Solid Modeling 901
  • The Acis Solid Modeler 902
  • Creating Primitives 903
  • Working with Extrude and Revolve 906
  • Working with 3D Boolean Operations 911
  • Using the Fillet and Chamfer Commands 914
  • Controlling Surface Resolution 918
  • Advanced Solid Modeling Commands 919
  • Editing Solids 924
  • Summary 936
• 31 Rendering in 3D 939
  • Types of Rendering Supported by AutoCAD 940
  • The Rendering Process 942
  • Summary 972

• 32 Visual LISP 977
  • Understanding AutoLISP and Visual LISP 978
  • Understanding the Visual LISP Interface 979
  • Understanding the Advanced Programming Tools 989
  • Summary 996
• 33 Advanced Customization 999
  • Understanding AutoCAD Menu File Types 1000
  • Understanding AutoCAD Menu File Sections 1002
  • Creating Menu Macros 1008
  • Creating Custom Toolbars 1017
  • Summary 1024
• 34 AutoCAD 2002 CAD Standards 1027
  • Configuring Standards 1028
  • Checking Standards 1030
  • Layer Translation 1035
  • Summary 1038
• 35 Customizing with Diesel 1041
  • Introducing Diesel 1042
  • Creating Custom Status Lines with Diesel 1052
  • Catalog of Frequently Used Diesel Functions 1058
  • Summary 1064
• 36 Installing 2002 in the Business Environment 1067
  • Planning Your Network Installation 1068
  • Summary 1084
• 37 Advanced Plotting 1087
  • Publishing Drawings on the Internet with ePlot 1088
  • Understanding the AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility 1096
  • Summary 1112

• A Before the Drawing Begins: Planning and Organizing Projects 1117
  • Getting Started: Key Factors to Organize First 1118
  • Setting Up Your Drawing 1133
  • Using AutoCAD Features that Help in Project Delivery 1142
  • DesignCenter 1152
  • Summary 1153
• B What You'll Find on the CD-ROM 1155
  • System Requirements