Preface What Is AutoCAD? AutoCAD is a PC-based drafting and design software package developed and marketed by Autodesk®, Inc. As of 2010, it has been around for approximately 28 years ­ several lifetimes in the software industry. It has grown from modest beginnings to an industry standard, often imitated, sometimes exceeded, but never equaled. The basic premise is simple and is one of the reasons for AutoCAD's success. Anything you can think of, you can draw quickly and easily. For many years it helped if this "anything" was 2D in nature as AutoCAD is essentially a superb electronic 2D drafting board. In recent releases, however, its 3D capabilities finally matured, and AutoCAD is now also considered an excellent 3D visualization tool. The software has a rather steep learning curve to become an expert, but a surprisingly easy one to just get started. Most importantly, it's well worth learning. This is truly global software that has been adopted by millions of architects, designers and engineers worldwide. Over the years Autodesk has expanded that reach by introducing add-on packages that customize AutoCAD for industry-specific tasks such as electrical, civil, mechanical and many others. However, underneath all of these add-ons is still plain AutoCAD. This software remains hugely popular. Learn it well as it is still one of the best things you can add to your resume and skill set! About This Book This book is not like most on the market. While many authors certainly fancy their particular text as being unique and novel in its approach, I have rarely reviewed one that was clear to a beginner student and distilled AutoCAD concepts down to basic, easy to understand, explanations. The problem may be that many of the available books are written by either industry technical experts or teachers, but rarely by someone who is actively both. One really needs to interact with the industry and the students, in equal measure, to bridge the gap between reality and the classroom. After years of AutoCAD design work in the daytime and teaching nights and weekends, I set out to create a set of