GETTING STARTED WITH AUTOCAD 2017

        AutoCAD 2017 software is the world’s leading customizable CAD software for 2017 drafting. detailing and basic 3D design. AutoCAD is a computer Aided Design (CAD) program used by every Engineering and Design office in the world. AutoCAD 2017, the new standard in CAD productivity from Autodesk, gives you the tools you need to realize your idea and provide maximum speed, power and efficiency throughout your process.

You can start AutoCAD, using one of the following two methods:

       • Double-click the AutoCAD 2017 icon on the Windows desktop.

      • Click Start → All Programs (or Programs) → Autodesk → AutoCAD 2017→ AutoCAD 2017 (Application).

By default, AutoCAD has four workspace configurations:

      ★ 2D Drafting & Annotation  

      ★ 3D Modeling

      ★ AutoCAD Classic

      ★ Initial Setup Workspace

User Interface 

      👉 You can use the following three important component of the user interface to access many frequently used commands.

      ★ Application menu

      ★ Quick Access toolbar

      ★ Ribbon

The following explains about the graphical user interface of autocad 2017.

1. Application menu
2. Quick Access toolbar
3. Ribbon
4. Crosshairs
5. Drawing area
6. Command Window
7. Status bar

Application Menu

      👉 You can use the application menu to access the commands such as New, Open, Save, Print, and Close.

Quick Access toolbar 

      This displays the frequently used tools. 

Ribbon   

      👉 The Ribbon is a palette which displays Task-based commands and controls.

      👉 The ribbon is displayed automatically when you create or open a file, providing all of the tools necessary to create your file.

Status bar

     👉 The status bar is located at the bottom of the application window.

      

      👉 The left end of the status bar displays the coordinates of the crosshairs in the drawing.

Coordinates display

     👉 To the right of the coordinates Display, there are buttons for drafting settings.

Short cut Menus 

      👉 When you right-click in the graphics window, you can use the options given in the shortcut menu to perform various tasks. The menu will change depending on the operation that you currently perform. 

Command Window 

      👉 The command window is located at the bottom of the application window. All the commands that are entered manually or used using tools are executed in the command line only.

Working with drawing files 

      👉 Using Quick access toolbar you can create a new drawing file, open and save the drawing file. 

Start a Drawing 

      👉 You can start from scratch from the Create New Drawing dialog box, from the Select Template dialog box, or with a default drawing template file that uses no dialog box at all.

Use a Template File to Start a Drawing 

     👉 Drawing template file is used to provide consistency in the drawings that you create by providing standard styles and settings. 

     👉 Drawing template files have a .dwt file extension.

To start a drawing by selecting a template file 

     • Click the Application menu, and click New menu → Drawing. 

      • In the Select Template dialog box, select a template from the list.

      • Click Open.

The drawing is opened as drawing1.dwg.

To begin a new drawing using a wizard 

      • Click File menu→ New. 

      • In the Create New Drawing dialog box, click Use a Wizard. 

      • Click Quick Setup or Advanced Setup.

      • Complete the wizard pages using the Next and Back buttons to move forward and backward. 

      • On the last page, click Finish.

Opening a Drawing 

      👉 To open drawings to work on them just as you do with other Windows applications. 

To open a drawing, you can 

      👉 Use Open on the File menu or Quick Access toolbar to display the Select File dialog box. 

      👉 Double-click a drawing in Windows Explorer to launch AutoCAD® and open the drawing.

To open a drawing 

     • Click the Application button, and click Open → Drawing. 

      • In the Select File dialog box, select one or more files. Click Open.

      • The icon on the left side of the dialog box provide quick access to commonly used files and file locations.

Save a Drawing 

      👉 You save drawing files for later use just as you do with other Microsoft Windows applications. When you work on a drawing, you should save it frequently. Saving protects you from losing work in the event of a power failure or other unexpected event. The file extension for drawing files is .dwg.

To save a drawing 

      • Click File menu → Save.

            ★ If you previously saved and named the drawing, any changes made are saved and the Command prompt is redisplayed. If you have never saved the drawing, the Save Drawing As dialog box is displayed.

      • In the Save Drawing As dialog box, under File Name, enter the new drawing name; the file extension is not required. Click Save.

Specify Units and Unit Formats 

     👉 Before you start to draw, you decide on the units of measurement to be used in the drawing, Every object you create is measured in drawing units. Before you start to draw, you must decide what one drawing unit will represent based on what you plan to draw. Then you create your drawing at actual size with that convention. For example, a distance of one drawing unit typically represents one millimeter, one centimeter, one inch, or one foot in real-world units.

To set the units format and precision 

      • Click the Application button, and click Drawing →Units.

      • In the Drawing Units dialog box, under Length, select a unit format and precision. Click OK.

Converting drawing units 

      👉 If you start a drawing in one system of measurement (imperial or metric) and then want to switch to the other system, use SCALE to scale the model geometry by the appropriate conversion factor to obtain correct distances and dimensions.

      👉 For example, to convert a drawing created in inches to centimeters, you scale the model geometry by a factor of 2.54. To convert from centimeters to inches, the scale factor is 1/2.54 or about 0.3937.

Pan or Zoom a view 

     👉 You can pan to reposition the view in the drawing area or zoom to change magnification.

      👉 With the Realtime option of PAN, you pan dynamically by moving your pointing device.

To pan by dragging 

      • Click View tab → Navigate panel → Pan.

      • When the hand cursor is displayed, click and hold your pointing device as you move.

      • To exit, press Enter or Esc, or right-click.

When you work with minute parts in your drawing, you may need to zoom out frequently to see an overview of your work. Use ZOOM Previous to return quickly to the prior view.

To zoom by dragging 

      • Click View tab → Navigate panel → Realtime.

     • When the magnifying glass cursor is displayed, click and hold your pointing. device and drag vertically to zoom in and out.

      • To exit, press Enter or Esc, or right-click.

To zoom in to an area by specifying its boundaries

      • Click View tab → Navigate panel → Window.

      • Specify one corner of the rectangular area you want to view.

      • Specify the opposite corner.

To display the drawing extents by zooming 

      • Click View tab → Navigate panel → Extents.

    • All objects in the drawing are displayed to be as large as possible and still fit in the current viewport or the drawing area.

To display the area of the grid limits by zooming 

      • Click View tab → Navigate panel → All.

    • The limits of the drawing grid fill the current viewport or the drawing area. if there are any objects outside the grid limits, they are also included.

To restore the previous view 

     • Click View tab → Navigate panel → Previous.

     • Zoom Previous restores only the view magnification and position, not the previous content of an edited drawing.

THANK YOU. !