Using AutoCAD 2004: Basics

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 960 pages
• Published by: Autodesk Press
• Edition: 1st Edition September 2, 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 140185060X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1401850609
• Book Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 1.4 inches
• Weighs: 4.3 pounds

Product Description
Using AutoCAD® 2004 is easier than ever to manage now that it comes in two volumes, Basics and Advanced. This introductory volume is designed to teach novice through intermediate AutoCAD users the essentials of learning to draft with AutoCAD 2004. It covers every aspect of the basics of AutoCAD 2004, from introducing computer hardware and CAD software to efficiently producing drawings by a variety of means. Setting up AutoCAD for new drawings, learning to draw with objects, direct editing of objects, and plotting are all featured in this thoroughly up-to-date basic edition of the best-seller.

About The Author
Ralph Grabowski is Editor of upFront.eZine e-newsletter and the former Senior Editor at Cadalyst magazine. He is the author of more than 100 books about AutoCAD and other graphics software. His industry blog is WorldCAD Access at worldcadaccess.typepad.com.

Reader Reviews
Both Basic and Advanced are essentially classroom textbooks, with textbook-style exercises that are abstract and do not follow any one project. Personally, I prefer "learning by example" when the tutorials and exercises are part of a larger project - it's more important to learn how to employ the concepts and tools in a realistic project setting, as opposed to a bunch of unrelated topic-specific exercises. Also, the included CDROMs border on useless. There are only a few dozen sample drawings per volume and not much else. The exercises consist of "open drawingx.dwg from the CD and perform one or two operations on it." Surely, with 650MB of available space, more could have been included than a few megabytes of drawing files. These books do get good marks for thoroughly covering all the topics. The lack of real-world application severely limits these books' usefulness for self-learners.