AutoCAD® 2009 For Dummies®

Chapter 6. Manage Your Properties

In This Chapter

• Managing layers

• Managing other object properties: color, linetype, and lineweight

• Copying layers and other named symbols with DesignCenter

CAD programs are different from other drawing programs. You have to pay attention to little details like object properties and the precision of the points that you specify when you draw and edit objects. If you ignore these details and just start drawing, you'll end up with a mess of sloppy geometry that's hard to edit, view, and plot.

This chapter introduces you to object properties, one set of AutoCAD tools and techniques that help you prevent CAD messes. Chapter 7 explains the most important precision drawing techniques that you need to observe in order to create useable AutoCAD drawings. The information in these two chapters is essential to know before you start drawing and editing objects, procedures that I describe in Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11.

When you first start using AutoCAD, one of its most overwhelming features is the number of property settings and precision controls that you need to pay attention to — even when you draw a simple line. Unlike many other programs, it's not enough to draw a line in a more-or-less adequate location and then slap some color on it. But all those settings and controls can inspire the feeling that you have to find out how to drive a Formula 1 car to make a trip down the street. (The advantage is that, after you are comfortable in the driver's seat, AutoCAD will ...