TABLE OF CONTENTS Before you can start to use AutoCAD 2006's new capabilities, you'll need to become familiar with the basics. If you are completely new to AutoCAD, you'll want to read this first chapter carefully. It introduces you to many of AutoCAD's basic operations, such as opening and closing files, getting a close-up look at part of a drawing, and changing a drawing. If you are familiar with earlier versions of AutoCAD, you might want to skim this chapter anyway to get acquainted with features you haven't already used; or you can jump ahead to Chapter 2.
Autodesk has recently changed its AutoCAD update strategy to release new versions on a yearly basis. Part of this strategy is to introduce new items that are focused on a particular category of features. This latest version, AutoCAD 2006, includes several new features focused on 2D editing. Blocks have been improved to give you more flexibility and on-the-fly customization. Tables now include a formula feature so that they can behave more like spreadsheets. And the interface has also been improved with more information displayed right at the drawing cursor.
But for now, let's get started with some basics!
Topics in this chapter include the following:
Using the AutoCAD Window
Opening an...
