AutoCAD 2016 Beyond the Basics

Learn to master named views in AutoCAD 2016, using the view manager to save, organize, and quickly navigate model and paper space, switch visual styles, and set viewports.

Rotate your view in AutoCAD 2016 using 3-D orbit or the twist command to achieve precise angles, then switch between model space and paper space and reset with plan world.

Explore how viewports in model space differ from paper space, enabling multiple perspectives of a single model. Create up to four viewports to visualize 2-D and 3-D drawings.

Master AutoCAD advanced navigation tools to quickly move through drawings with zoom, pan, orbit, and the navigation bar and wheel for switchable views.

Discover how the AutoCAD 2016 application menu, the big red A, accelerates file management with new, open, save, print, and recent documents, plus a powerful command search.

Develop speed and efficiency in AutoCAD by using two-handed input: keyboard and mouse, together with the command line, dynamic input, and keyboard shortcuts.

Learn how construction lines and rays extend to infinity in AutoCAD to project views and aid isometric drawing. Compare construction lines with arrays and use trimming.

Master solid and donut commands in AutoCAD 2016 to visualize filled areas and holes quickly. Learn how solids use three or four points and donuts work as arc-based polylines.

Master multi-line in AutoCAD 2016 to rapidly draw two or more parallel lines, adjust style, justification, and scale, and trim or close the object.

Explore advanced polyline and spline editing in AutoCAD 2016, including grips, vertex manipulation, add/remove vertex, stretch, convert between polyline and arc, and Pedit for multi-object editing.

Group objects keep linework together while preserving access to individual parts, offering flexibility beyond blocks. Use the group command to define, edit, and manage groups with on/off and ungroup options.

Explore how AutoCAD uses the world coordinate system and user coordinate systems to place and transform geometry, set origin points, rotate UCS, and keep drawings aligned across files.

Master AutoCAD's align command to move, rotate, and scale multiple objects by selecting two to three base points, then line them up precisely.

Learn to lengthen lines and arcs in AutoCAD using the lengthened command and grip edits, exploring delta, total, percent, and dynamic options to set exact lengths.

Apply the AutoCAD join command to merge lines, arcs, and polylines into a single coplanar object, while noting order, elevation, and when arcs form circles.

Learn how to create and edit revision clouds in AutoCAD using the revision cloud tool, selecting rectangle, polygon, or freehand shapes and configuring arclength for clear change indication.

Use quick select to filter your AutoCAD selections by object type, color, and text, enabling rapid, multi-item selection and targeted edits across drawings.

Create and save selection filters in AutoCAD 2016 beyond the basics. Save filters for later use and apply them to find objects by criteria such as layer and block name.

Generate evenly spaced points or measured intervals along any line, arc, circle, or polyline using the divide and measure tools in AutoCAD 2016, illustrated with an ice rink example.

Explore the quick calc palette to perform unit conversions, measure distances and angles, calculate areas and acres, and copy results to paste into emails or documents from your drawing.

Use select similar in AutoCAD 2016 to quickly pick all objects similar to the one you select by name and layer, then adjust color, layer, or diameter as needed.

Use add selected to quickly start the appropriate command on the selected object's layer, keeping you on the correct layer and speeding up drawing in AutoCAD.

Apply AutoCAD 2016 advanced tools to a chapter project, converting lines and an arc into a centerline and placing renamed traffic light blocks every 10 miles using measure and copy.

Learn to manage complex AutoCAD drawings by isolating layers and objects, hiding or ending isolation to focus on selected elements across plan, elevation, and sections.

Learn to apply transparency in AutoCAD 2016 by fading hatch patterns and underlying lines via layer or object settings. Preview the print with plot transparency to create clear, focused drawings.

Explore how linetype scale (LTE scale) controls dash visibility in AutoCAD, using model space, paper space, and viewports, then apply per-object LTE scale adjustments for consistent dash lengths.

Learn how AutoCAD draw order controls visibility of hatch patterns and linework in the ice rink file, using bring front or back, bring above objects, and text to front.

Master advanced multi-line text in AutoCAD 2016, using the text editor, bullets and numbering, column options, spell check with dictionary, and find and replace.

Import text from a plain text file using the m text command to insert raw notes into your drawing, with no formatting, styles, or layers.

Learn how fields link text to objects in AutoCAD to display area and file names in notes and title blocks, and use the field dialog to format and insert them.

Master advanced AutoCAD 2016 table features, including formatting, locking, borders, and formulas to compute areas from shapes, and learn to paste, link, or insert Excel data as live AutoCAD tables.

Explore annotative scaling that keeps text at a defined paper height regardless of viewport scale. Set annotative text styles and a paper height of one eighth inch for legible text.

Open the chapter project, set up an annotated dimension style, adjust annotation scale, insert a table, and compute areas with fields and sums to present data at any scale.

Master sheet sets in AutoCAD 2016 to manage, print, and renumber multi-drawing sets with the sheet set manager. Publish subsets, automate properties across files for efficient collaboration.

Explore how to create a sheet set in AutoCAD 2016 using templates, existing drawings, or from scratch, plus managing sheets, subsets, and printing assemblies.

Learn to pull sheet set data into drawings with fields in AutoCAD 2016 beyond the basics. Discover inserting fields for sheet titles, sheet numbers, and drawn-by information.

Create reusable sheet templates by configuring drawing properties and sheet set custom properties in AutoCAD 2016, including engineer of record and drawn by fields, to standardize printing and updates.

Learn to organize drawings with advanced sheet set features in AutoCAD 2016, using subsets, templates, and sheet views to create and manage new sheets and access views quickly.

Publish from sheet sets enables batch printing of entire drawing sets in AutoCAD 2016, using the publish command, right-click options, and page set up overrides.

Explore how to print AutoCAD drawings using PC3 files, select printers through the print dialog, and adjust device and document settings to save and reuse plot configurations.

Learn how CTB plot styles control pen weights and colors for consistent prints, and use the layer manager to assign colors for color or black printing.

Learn how to plot with stb files by configuring plot styles to print in color or black and white, adjust screening, and streamline pen sets, all through the layer manager.

Learn to batch print multiple AutoCAD drawings with the publisher tool, using sheet sets or saved sheet lists and a page setup for efficient publishing.

Discover how to use the xref manager to reference external CAD and image files, enable multi-party collaboration, manage model and sheet files, and control scale, insertion, and units.

Learn attached versus overlay xrefs, avoid circular references, and use the xref manager to switch B from attached to overlay to keep only desired data.

Explore how to use the xref manager to collaboratively reference files in AutoCAD, control display by layer, freeze layers, and customize colors, line types, and display settings for linked drawings.

Learn how binding and inserting xrefs convert them to blocks, add missing layers, and decide whether to keep the name prefix in AutoCAD drawings.

Clip an xref to show only a portion of a file using the xclip command to create a boundary (rectangle or polygon), invert it, or remove it.

Explore managing external references in AutoCAD 2016, including DWF, DGN, JPG, TIF, PDF, and DWG, with clipping, transparency, brightness, contrast, fade, and draw order controls.

Link data from Word and Excel into AutoCAD using paste special and paste link, converting to editable text objects or dynamic linked tables.

Master AutoCAD xrefs with relative and full paths, and use the external reference manager to bulk update, find, and replace paths across drawings.

Use AutoCAD's data extraction and e-text tools to count walls, chairs, doors, and other items, compute total lengths, and generate tables or exports for a bill of materials.

Insert dynamic blocks in a drawing to place doors, windows, and trees, then flip, resize, and copy them for varied orientations and quick bulk adjustments in imperial units.

Create a dynamic block in AutoCAD by defining a parameter and an action, using the block editor, and testing the block's stretch behavior with grips.

Learn to build dynamic blocks in AutoCAD 2016 using parameters, actions, and constraints to control visibility states, scale, and geometry across different block states.

Learn how to use the test block tool in the block editor to troubleshoot dynamic blocks, add linear stretch parameters and actions, and verify every step for correct behavior.

Create a dynamic north arrow block in AutoCAD by combining three north arrow variants into one block with visibility states and a rotate parameter, including a north attribute.