AutoCAD 2004: A Building Approach, Book 1--Learning the Basics

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The purpose of this book and its companions, AutoCAD® 2004: A Building Approach, Book 2: Taking Command and AutoCAD® 2004: A Building Approach, Book 3: From Concept to Application, is to teach the fundamentals of using AutoCAD 2004 so that you can make simple, but professional engineering drawings. This book and its companions have been updated from the AutoCAD(r) 2002: A Building Approach series to include both the new and revised features in AutoCAD 2004. The features that are new or have major changes from AutoCAD 2002 are noted in the margin throughout the book by the icon shown at the left.

This book takes you from opening the AutoCAD program for the very first time to being able to efficiently use the basic commands to set up, draw, and print drawings. It covers different techniques for putting lines on a drawing and drawing specific shapes such as rectangles, circles, arcs, and ellipses. You will also learn about the different types of engineering units and their use in engineering. As part of the activities in this book, you will make and save your own personalized drawing template, add text to your template, and use it for making drawings in this and the companion books. To give you "real-world" practice, there are Applying the Concepts exercises at the end of most of the modules, and a Final Project at the end of the book. Sections in Appendix A cover the use of combination and architect's scales for those who are not familiar with, or who need to review, these topics.

Instead of showing you the myriad commands available in AutoCAD 2004, this book teaches you the most efficient methods of using the AutoCAD program. When learning a new computer program, it is easy to be overwhelmed with all that the program can do, and it can be confusing when many methods to do the same thing are introduced at the same time. It is far better to learn one method well and then, after becoming proficient in this method, look for other ways to accomplish the same tasks. Therefore, this book generally focuses on using the toolbars to access most of the drawing and editing tools. By learning to identify and use the buttons on the toolbars, you will find yourself quickly becoming proficient at making simple drawings.

To the student
The step-by-step approach used in this book guides you through the learning process and teaches you how to use the AutoCAD program. But you must be careful when using this learning method. It is very easy to fall into the habit of doing the "mechanical" steps as outlined without engaging your brain so that you learn from the steps you are doing. You always must know both what you are doing in each step and why. As you progress through each step, check it off; and as you check it off, ask yourself whether you understand why you did what you did. If not, figure out why. When checking the boxes, use a pencil so you can erase and do the step over if you do not truly understand the "why."

If you get lost in a section, back up to the beginning of that section and try again. I have always felt that the most important button on any software program is the UNDO button. It allows you to back up one step at a time and correct your mistakes without starting over entirely. The person who developed this button understood that mistakes will be made, and that deleting everything and starting at the very beginning is not very efficient. You will learn about this button early in the book, so don't be afraid to use it to back up a few steps and do them over again so that you learn from the experience.

This book does not provide you with information on every single feature in AutoCAD. I recommend that you purchase a small reference guide to the software and keep it handy to look up other ways of doing things or new things that you would like to do. AutoCAD also provides you with immediate help, from Help buttons inside dialog boxes that describe the features of that box to selecting the F1 function key to open AutoCAD 2004's extensive user documentation that will help you with every facet of the program.

I also encourage you to "play" with the software. Try to learn things on your own. Explore new ways to speed up your work. CAD operators in industry are paid both for applying their technical knowledge to engineering design and on how productive they are at using the program. As with most learned skills, the more you practice the better you become. This book is not intended to teach engineering design; however, it will teach you the basics of AutoCAD to enable you to become proficient at using this software. You can then build on the basic foundation these books provide.

To the instructor
The methods used in this book have been used for years in various educational settings. The modules in this book have been classroom tested with good success over the past several years by me and other regular and adjunct faculty at Marion Technical College.

The methods of step-by-step learning work well for teaching software programs, since students progress at different rates. During a lecture students who fall behind can become frustrated and may give up listening, hoping to figure it out later. Students who pick up things quickly may start exploring other features or jump ahead; and although exploration is an excellent way to learn, these students may tune out the instructor and miss some important point the instructor is trying to make. The other students who are following the instructor are busy refocusing their attention from the instructor to the computer, to the instructor, and back to the computer over and over again. This is a very inefficient way to learn something as complicated as a software program.

Students are often forced to purchase textbooks with lengthy discussions on sometimes trivial topics that they quickly forget as soon as the course or exam is over. But most students do not read the assigned portions of their textbooks. Instead, they tend to learn by looking at the examples in the book or figuring out how to do things or how to solve problems on their own. In short, students learn best by doing.

Moreover, you cannot learn to oper4te a software program by simply reading a book. Often I have taken along a text or manual while traveling without computer access, hoping to learn how to operate a particular new software program. It was a waste of time. Without hands-on interaction with the computer, learning does not take place.

This is why I decided to try the step-by-step approach in my classes. All the students read the book; they have to because it is the only way they know what to do next. I usually give a short introductory lecture at the start of each class with the computers off so I have the students' attention. Then, the students start working on their own, and I offer help when someone is having problems. If someone finishes work early, I challenge him or her with additional tasks. I always encourage students to "play" with the program and try to discover other features or ways of doing things on their own. I never allow students to rush through a module or assignment as there is a chance that they only did the "mechanical" steps; they did not learn the "why." So this text does not eliminate the instructor; instead, it frees the instructor to spend time helping those students who need help.

In this edition, I have included 40 additional practice problems that will give students an opportunity to strengthen their drawing skills. These problems are designed not only to provide additional practice, but to make students think about the best approach when making a drawing. They also require students to do basic dimensional calculations that are required of any CAD operator.

In addition to its use in the classroom, this text is also appropriate for distance learning. Students can purchase the student edition of AutoCAD, install it on a personal computer, and complete the activities at home or work. Drawings can then be transferred through e-mail between student and instructor. If your school does not currently have a distance learning course in AutoCAD, this may be an excellent and cost-efficient way to get one started.

This book, along with its companions, also provides flexibility by using a modular format. No textbook is perfectly laid out the way an instructor would like to teach the material. The modularized approach allows you to assign modules or activities in the order you prefer. It can also be used for business and industry training. Companies can determine what skills their employees need and then use the modules and activities to provide training in those particular areas.

• AutoCAD 2004: A Building Approach, Book 2, Taking Command
  by Terry D. Metz [ISBN: 0131135384]
  Provides a true step-by-step approach that guides you through the learning process in a friendly and effective way. Teaches you one efficient method, instead of overwhelming you with multiple ways to do the same thing, so you can quickly become a productive CAD operator.
• AutoCAD 2004: A Building Approach, Book 3, From Concept to Application
  by Terry D. Metz [ISBN: 0131135392]
  Teaches you to rise the basic drawing, editing, and text tools in an integrated approach that combines learning-related operations and commands together to make them easier to remember