Acknowledgements A textbook of this magnitude is rarely a product of only one person's effort. The author wishes to thank early reviewers of this text, including efforts of Jeremy Lucas and Nick Guarriello to improve the original editions, and Chris Ramirez for extensive research and ideas when most needed, as well as using the text in his classroom. Additional thanks to Pratt Institute of Design, New York Institute of Technology, Russell and Titu Sarder of Netcom Information Systems, RoboTECH CAD solutions, RM Architect, and other companies and schools for ongoing support. Extensive gratitude also to Joseph P. Hayton, Anne McGee, Becky Pease and the rest of the team at Elsevier for believing in the project and for their invaluable support in getting the book out to market. Finally I would like to thank my friends and family, especially my parents and Colleen Sullivan for the patience and encouragement as well as standing by me as months of work turned into years. We're not out of the woods yet, but we're halfway there! This book is dedicated to the hundreds of students that have passed through my classrooms and made teaching the enjoyable adventure it has become. About the Author Elliot Gindis started out using AutoCAD in a New York City area civil engineering company in September of 1996, moving on to consulting work shortly afterwards. He has since drafted in a wide variety of fields ranging from all aspects of architecture and building design to electrical, mechanical, civil, structural, and rail design. These assignments, including lengthy stays with IBM and Siemens Transportation Systems, totaled over 50+ companies to date.