Quick Start: Drawing a Window

Learning AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT is a bit like trying to decide which came first — the chicken or the egg. On one hand, you need to know the basics before you can start drawing. On the other hand, understanding the basics can be very difficult if you haven't had the experience of drawing something. In this Quick Start chapter, you resolve this problem by drawing, dimensioning, and printing a simple window in AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT.

This Quick Start chapter is meant for beginners. You get the feel of AutoCAD's precision drawing tools and experience how to build a drawing. The AutoCAD/AutoCAD LT interface is very customizable. Note that the instructions for the exercise in this chapter assume that no one has made major changes to the default settings.

Note

When you start AutoCAD 2012 for the very first time, the Migrate Custom Settings dialog box may appear, asking you to migrate your custom settings from a previous release of AutoCAD. By default, the Exchange window opens each time you open AutoCAD; just click the Close button to close it.

On the DVD

The file used in this exercise on drawing a window, abqs-a.dwt, is a template located in the Drawings folder on the DVD.

1. Double-click the AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT icon on your desktop to start the program.

You see a new drawing. (If you are prompted for a template, skip to Step 2, third sentence.)

2. Choose Application ButtonNew. (The Application Button is the red A at the upper-left corner of your ...

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