Section 1. Introduction and Review. Objectives: Log on to the computer Launch AutoCAD Create, open, and save a drawing Review AutoCAD basics

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2 Section 1 Introduction and Review Objectives: Log on to the computer Launch AutoCAD Create, open, and save a drawing Review AutoCAD basics Drawing Assignments: NCAA Basketball Court Plot Style Table (Check-off)

3 Back to Basics This course assumes that you are familiar with AutoCAD s fundamentals of operation. Our focus in the 20B class is how to get under the hood and find out what makes AutoCAD tick. We want the software to do more of the work for us. That is, to be more productive. If you have not been in front of AutoCAD for a while, it may be of benefit to cover some of the basics. The following is a quick review of the fundamentals. You may want to cover some of your notes from the 20A class or scan through other material covering the essentials of AutoCAD operation. Main Window The first and most obvious change is the main menu interface. Starting with AutoCAD 2009, we now have the new Menu Ribbon Bar as another option for interfacing with AutoCAD. If you have worked with other Windows applications (Microsoft Office for example), then you may be familiar with this type of interface. The objective is to combine menus, toolbars, and the like into a more compact menu structure and free up more screen space for editing drawings.

4 Application Menu The application menu is used to open, plot, save, and export drawings, among other things. The left pane of the Application menu displays the different commands. Clicking or hovering over a command displays a menu of its options in the right pane. Quick Access Toolbar At the top of the application window, the Quick Access toolbar displays frequently used tools. You may add tools to the Quick Access toolbar. Tools that extend past the maximum length of the toolbar are displayed in a drop-down button. Ribbon The ribbon is displayed by default when you open a file, providing a compact palette of all of the tools necessary to create or modify your drawing. The ribbon is organized with tabs, panels, and tools. Tools are the commands used to complete your drawings. They are grouped by type on panels. In the picture above, the draw and modify tools are grouped together on panels. Above the ribbon, there are tabs which group tools used in different phases of the drawing process. UCS Icon The User Coordinate System (UCS) icon is shown in the lower-left corner of the drawing area. The icon is used to keep you oriented in your drawing. It is especially useful when creating complex 2D or 3D drawings. Command Window (Command Line) The command line is where AutoCAD displays responses to your input while you re using a command. This line shows the current responses to your command input as well as command options. This is where

5 AutoCAD will talk back to you. I suggest that you dock the command window at the bottom of the screen and adjust it to show three lines of history. Status Bar The application status bar displays the cursor location, drawing tools, and tools that affect your drawing environment. The application status bar gives quick access to some of the most commonly used drawing tools. You can toggle settings such as snap, grid, polar tracking, object snap, and orthogonal mode or access additional settings from the shortcut menu. The coordinates shown in the left-hand side indicate the current location of the cursor. Creating a New Drawing To begin a new drawing in AutoCAD, simply choose a template file with the settings you desire. A template file (.dwt) is a file that has some of the drawing settings already in place. You may also open an existing drawing and saveas a new drawing, thereby copying the original drawing without making any changes to it. When starting a new drawing in this class, use the template method and select the Acad.dwt file. Saving a Drawing Save drawing files for later use just as you do with other 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. If you want to create a new version of a drawing without affecting the original drawing, you can save it under another name using the saveas command. The file extension for drawing files is.dwg, and unless you change the default file format in which drawings are saved, drawings are saved in the latest drawing file format. In this class you should ALWAYS save on the network drive. DO NOT save your work to the local computer (C:). Drafting Shortcuts As you become more proficient at using AutoCAD, you will look for ways to speed up the drawing process. There are a number of methods and tricks that, in the right circumstance, can save a great deal of time and reduce the chance for errors. Below are listed a few shortcuts and how they apply. Selection Sets Selection sets are a temporary grouping of entities that AutoCAD tracks during a given operation. For example, you wish to move a set of mounting plates within a drawing. The first step is to use the Move command and then select the entities (individually, by window, crossing, etc.) that will be moved. Note: You can also select entities first then issue a command such as Move. This order of operation is termed Noun/Verb (Object/Action) or Verb/Noun (Action/Object). Issuing the Move command then

6 selecting entities would be a Verb/Noun mode of operation. The system variable PICKFIRST governs if the Noun/Verb mode is enabled. After completing the operation, a record of the selected entities still remains and can be used as an argument to another command. To reference a previous selection set, use the key word Previous (shortcut P ). In our example, it is determined that the mounting plates are no longer needed. Use the Erase command and rather than selecting the same entities again, simply enter P and the selection set created in the Move operation is used to highlight the same entities. Selection sets can also be created apart from any editing operation. The command Select will allow you to create a selection set in the standard manner; that is a single pick, window or crossing methods. The selection set can then be used as an input to an editing command as just described. A note of caution - selection sets are temporary and immediate. They do not exist between editing session and cannot be saved or named. Furthermore, as soon as one or more entities are selected for an operation, the previous selection set is overwritten. Selecting Entities When selecting objects for an operation such as Move, the selection mode defaults to Add. While in the selection mode, you may enter Remove (shortcut R ) at the command line to de-select entities that you do not wish to include in the selection set. Entering Add (shortcut A ) will place you back in add mode where additional entities can be added to the selection set. An easier method for removing entities from a selection set is to hold down the Shift key while selecting. As soon as the Shift key is released, AutoCAD reverts back to Add mode. Groups While a selection set is transitory and cannot be saved, groups do allow the collection, naming, and saving of entities. Groups then are essentially named selection sets. You can define and save a group with the drawing. Groups, however, are not inferred. That is you must use the GROUP command which will display the Group Dialog where a name is established and entities selected. Tracking Tracking offers visual feedback that allows you draw objects or locate points in relation to other geometry. AutoCAD supports Polar Tracking and Tracking to points on objects. With polar tracking turned on, an alignment path (dotted line) will be displayed as you move from a current point along one of the preset angles. By default, polar tracking is set to 90-degree increments. You can change the polar settings through the Drafting Settings dialog. From the Tools menu, select Drafting Settings or type DSETTINGS on the command line. Tracking to points allows you to find phantom intersections between object snap points of existing entities. With object snap turned on, move to an object s snap point (i.e. endpoint) and pause for a moment. As you then move away, AutoCAD will display an alignment path along orthogonal lines. Move to a second snap point on another objects and repeat the same steps. Moving along alignment paths

7 established by the two snap points will yield an intersection point that you can then use as the base or starting point for drawing an new object. Relative coordinate moves Any point can be identified by coordinate pairs relative to the origin or to another point. This is the idea behind relative coordinate moves. For example, if you needed to draw a line from the points (1,1) to (6,17), those coordinates could be used as inputs to the Line command. The second point, however, can also be identified as a relative move of (5,16) units away from the start point. To specify a relative move, preface the coordinate pair with the at symbol (@). The full sequence of steps then would be to start the Line command, enter 1,1 as the starting point as the relative move to the absolute position of 6,17. Last point (@) symbol can also be used to recall the last referenced point. To continue our example just used for making a relative move, you now wish to draw a circle at the terminating point of the line, that is the point 6,17. The typical method would be to snap to the end point and draw the circle. in response to the circle command s prompt for the center point would also reference the last point or 6,17. In this situation it may seem inconsequential, but we will see in a later lesson where symbol can be very useful in custom menu macros. Shortcut / Floating Menus As mentioned previously, AutoCAD supports shortcut or floating menus. These are menus that are context sensitive and displayed at the current cursor location when the right mouse button is pressed. One of the most useful is the Osnap menu. When creating graphics and you need to specify a particular snap mode for a single pick, hold down the shift key and click the right mouse button. This will display a floating menu with snap options on screen. Plotting your drawing The terms printing and plotting can be used interchangeably for CAD output. Historically, printers would generate text only, and plotters would generate vector graphics. As printers became more powerful and could generate high-quality raster images of vector data, the distinction largely disappeared. In addition to paper output, electronic delivery of multiple drawing sheets uses the encompassing term, publishing. The process of generating physical models in plastic and metal is called 3D printing. The Plot dialog box is shown below.

8 When you are ready to plot in this class, you need to change the settings in the following areas: Printer/plotter Set it to the appropriate Laser plotter for the room you are in (either MS9 or MS10). Paper size Depending on the drawing, you will use either letter or 11 x 17 Plot area When plotting from model space, select extents from the drop-down list. Plot offset When plotting from model space, select the center the plot check box. When plotting from paper space, make sure the layout option is chosen. Plot scale Uncheck the Fit to paper check box and select the proper scale from the drop-down list.

9 Plot style table Create the ALL_BLACK style as described below. Be sure to save it to your network drive. Use the drop-down to select ALL_BLACK from the list of styles available. This will make all lines plot black, regardless of what color they are on the screen. You will not have this setting if plotting from home. Preview All other settings may be accepted with the default settings. Always preview a drawing before clicking on the OK button. If the plot does not appear on the screen the way you want it to print, then something is wrong press escape and try again!

10 Creating the Plot Style Table A plot style table is a collection of plot styles assigned to a layout or to the Model tab. There are two types of plot style tables: color-dependent plot style tables and named plot style tables. Color-dependent plot style tables (CTB) use an object's color to determine characteristics such as lineweight. Every red object in a drawing is plotted the same way. While you can edit plot styles in a color-dependent plot style table, you cannot add or delete plot styles. There are 256 plot styles in a colordependent plot style table, one for each color. We are going to create a CTB that will make all of the colors on the regular color index plot black except for the shades of grey. You can use the Plot Style Manager to add, delete, rename, copy, and edit plot style tables. Both colordependent and named plot style tables are stored in the Plot Styles folder by default. 1. On the OPTIONS dialog box, select the Plot and Publish tab.

11 2. Pick the Plot Style Table Settings button. The Plot Style Table Settings box is displayed. 3. Pick the Add or Edit Plot Style Tables button. When the next box appears, double-click the Add-A-Plot Style Table Wizard shortcut. 4. When the Add a Plot Style Table dialog box appears, click next. 5. Make sure that the Start from scratch button is selected. Click next.

12 6. Verify that the Color-Dependent Plot Style Table radio button is selected. Click Next. 7. For the file name, type in ALL_BLACK. When complete, click next. 8. When the finish screen appears, click the Plot Style Table Editor button.

13 9. When the Plot Style Table Editor ALL_BLACK dialog box appears, use shift-select all colors from as shown below. After the colors have been selected, change the color in the Properties area from Use object color to black. 10. When complete, choose Save and Close to exit the editor. 11. In the window that contained the Add-A-Plot Style Table Wizard shortcut, you will now see the new ALL_BLACK.ctb. Use Windows Explorer to copy that file to your network drive. NOTE: The next time you log on to the computer, you will need to copy the saved CTB file to the Plot Styles folder before you plot. You will need to go back to the OPTIONS dialog box and repeat steps 1 3, but do not click on the Wizard. Instead, browse to your network drive and find the ALL_BLACK.ctb file. When you locate the file, right-click and copy it, then back up and paste it tin the Plot Styles folder.

14 NCAA Basketball Court Often when completing an assignment for a client, you will need information that you do not have. The best place to get that information varies sometimes it is the client, other times it is not. For example, when you are creating a drawing that must conform to a standard size, the best place to find the information is the regulating agency. For this assignment, assume that you have been hired to lay out a basketball court for a university. Because the basketball court must conform to NCAA standards, you will get the needed dimensions and information from the NCAA website. Draw the basketball court and add the items listed below in model space. Set units to Architectural (UNITS command). Set limits to 120 x 80 (LIMITS command) Create the layers shown below for the drawing. Name Color Lineweight Linetype Backboard & Hoop 251 Default Default Lines White Default Default Logo 253 Default Default 3 Point Line 252 Default Default Restraining Line White Default Hidden2 Create the drawings in model space. Use the rectangle and polyline commands to draw the lines. Be sure to set the line width to 2. Be sure to consider the width of the line when drawing the lines and arcs. Some of the dimensions are specific to where dimensions should be made. Some of the dimensions seem to disagree. Always use a more specific dimension instead of a less specific one. Use your best judgment on anything not dimensioned (such as the thickness of the backboard). Change the linetype scale on the Retaining Lines to 100. Create a text style for the ROMANS font. For this assignment only, set the height of the text to 1-0 Use MTEXT to place your name in the bottom right NCAA logo area. Be sure to use the ROMANS style and the Middle Center justification. Your name should be on the Logo layer. Do NOT add any dimensions or notes. You will plot two sheets to turn in. o Plot one of the whole drawing from Model Space at a plot scale of 1/8 = 1-0 o Plot a window of the right side only (not including the Retaining Line) at a scale of 1/4 =1-0 When complete, staple the two together and turn them in. Plot Style Table Check-Off Have the instructor check your ALL_BLACK plot style table.