FINKELSTEIN If AutoCAD 2002 can do it, you can do it too . . . Packed with practical, real-world examples and authoritative advice, the AutoCAD 2002 Bible is your complete guide to the best AutoCAD yet. Expert author Ellen Finkelstein shows you how to master every aspect of this powerful design software, from 2D drawing and plotting fundamentals to database interactions, VBA and AutoLISP programming, Internet collaboration, and more. Inside, you’ll find complete coverage of AutoCAD 2002 • Discover the latest techniques for creating high-quality drawings • Master precision tools for creating 2D and 3D drawings and renderings • Learn to use new features for manipulating blocks (symbols) and their attributes (properties) • Explore updated methods for getting your drawings on the Web and collaborating via the Internet • Control your drawings with new CAD Standards features • Harness the advanced database access and data-sharing features of AutoCAD • Customize AutoCAD to fit the way you work for maximum productivity Shelving Category: Graphics/CAD/AutoCAD Reader Level: Beginning to Advanced System Requirements: Pentium 450 Mhz or better, Windows 98, Me, or Win NT w/SP5 or later, 128MB RAM, 200MB free hard drive space, VGA display with 1024x768 resolution or better, and CD-ROM drive. See “About the CD-ROM” appendix for more. ISBN 0-7645-3611-7 $49.99 USA $74.99 Canada £39.99 UK incl. VAT AutoCAD 2002 AutoCAD 2002 Conquer the AutoCAD learning curve and create top-quality drawings Master 3D modeling, AutoLISP programming, and other advanced techniques Harness the new Web publishing and collaboration features A utoCAD 2002 Ellen Finkelstein “The AutoCAD 2002 Bible should be part of every user’s immediate environment.” —from the Foreword by Wayne Hodgins, Strategic Futurist, Director, Worldwide Learning Strategies, Autodesk, Inc. ,!7IA7G4-fdgbbd!:p;o;t;T;T Trial version of AutoCAD 2002 on CD-ROM! BONUS CD-ROM! • AutoCAD 2002 trial version • 160+ sample drawings files www.hungryminds.com 100% ONE HUNDRED PERCENT COMPREHENSIVE AUTHORITATIVE WHAT YOU NEED ONE HUNDRED PERCENT Loaded CD-ROM includes: • AutoCAD 2002 15-day trial version • 160+ sample drawings and support files • Extensive parts and symbols libraries • 40+ shareware/freeware software programs A utoCAD 2002 Bible *85555-AIHEDj ® Learn how to prepare presentation-quality drawings Use real-world drawings to practice what you’ve learned ® ® ® Learn about AutoCAD’s new dimensions 100% COMPREHENSIVE 3611-7 cover 9/4/01 10:41 AM Page 1 AutoCAD ® 2002 Bible Ellen Finkelstein Best-Selling Books • Digital Downloads • e-Books • Answer Networks • e-Newsletters • Branded Web Sites • e-Learning New York, NY ✦ Cleveland, OH ✦ Indianapolis, IN 013611-7 FM.F 9/11/01 9:50 AM Page i AutoCAD ® 2002 Bible Published by Hungry Minds, Inc. 909 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022 www.hungryminds.com Copyright © 2002 Hungry Minds, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book, including interior design, cover design, and icons, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Control Number: 2001092890 ISBN: 0-7645-3611-7 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1B/QR/RQ/QR/IN Distributed in the United States by Hungry Minds, Inc. Distributed by CDG Books Canada Inc. for Canada; by Transworld Publishers Limited in the United Kingdom; by IDG Norge Books for Norway; by IDG Sweden Books for Sweden; by IDG Books Australia Publishing Corporation Pty. 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THE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREIN AND THE OPINIONS STATED HEREIN ARE NOT GUARANTEED OR WARRANTED TO PRODUCE ANY PARTICULAR RESULTS, AND THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY INDIVIDUAL. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES. Trademarks: All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. Hungry Minds, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. is a trademark of Hungry Minds, Inc. 013611-7 FM.F 9/11/01 9:50 AM Page ii About the Author Ellen Finkelstein learned AutoCAD in Israel, where she always got to pore over the manual because she was the only one who could read it in English. After returning to the United States, she started consulting and teaching AutoCAD as well as other computer programs, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Ellen has written books on Word, PowerPoint, and Flash (Flash 5 For Dummies, published by Hungry Minds, Inc.). Her first book was AutoCAD For Dummies Quick Reference. She was a contributing author to AutoCAD 13 Secrets, also published by Hungry Minds, Inc. Previous editions of this book were AutoCAD 14 Bible, appearing in 1997, and AutoCAD 2000 Bible, which was published in 1999. To MMY for teaching me that there’s more to life than meets the eye. 013611-7 FM.F 9/11/01 9:50 AM Page iii Acquisitions Editor Tom Heine Project Editor Melba Hopper Technical Editor Darren Young Copy Editor Roxane Marini Editorial Manager Rev Mengle Permissions Editor Carmen Krikorian Media Development Specialist Angie Denny Media Development Coordinator Marisa Pearman Project Coordinator Regina Snyder Graphics and Production Specialists Joyce Haughey LeAndra Johnson Betty Schulte Brian Torwelle Julie Trippetti Erin Zeltner Quality Control Technicians David Faust Susan Moritz Proofreading and Indexing TECHBOOKS Production Services Cover Image Kate Shaw Credits 013611-7 FM.F 9/11/01 9:50 AM Page iv Foreword W e at Autodesk understand better each day that while we are obviously a software developer and publisher, we are really in the “Customer Performance Improvement” business. This is the value proposition that you, our customer, ultimately seek. Don’t we all? Delivering on this proposition requires that we provide two key deliverables to you: 1. Great software technology with the right features. 2. The support you need so you can use Autodesk software effectively in your job with improved performance and productivity. Our product designs have always been user-centric and driven by what you need to continuously improve productivity. AutoCAD 2002 sets a new standard for user pro- ductivity. This is the AutoCAD that users and managers alike asked for— and more. Most of the new features and enhancements came from the ultimate source, cus- tomer requests, and for the ultimate purpose: improving the performance and pro- ductivity of you and your team. But creating great software based solely on your feedback is not enough. Autodesk’s commitment to increasing productivity requires that we go beyond what our customers ask. We’re always searching for new performance-enhancing innovations — even if they fall outside the scope of current software features, and even if you haven’t thought to ask for them. Our focus, like yours, is on results. If it works, if it enables you to be more successful and achieve better results, we’ll go there. So in addition to specific software enhancements, we are focusing more on supporting the entire process of collaborative design. We are “digitizing the design process” and enabling more effective use of the Web in order to simplify the com- plexities of collaborative design. Yet, introducing these innovations also poses new challenges, namely learning how to use and effectively apply these enhancements. We have done much to address these challenges both within AutoCAD 2002 and with new offerings such as AutoCAD Today and Autodesk Point A Web resources. However, the real solution must be more than what Autodesk alone can provide, hence the critical role of the Autodesk virtual community. We are therefore particularly grateful to Ellen Finkelstein for having written such a comprehensive and reliable guide to AutoCAD 2002, and to the good people at Hungry Minds for making this so widely available. Following the great success of the AutoCAD 2000 Bible, this new book draws upon lessons learned through constructive feedback from readers. 013611-7 FM.F 9/11/01 9:50 AM Page v vi AutoCAD 2002 Bible At Autodesk we prefer to think of more than just software, but rather the whole environment of an AutoCAD 2002 user. The AutoCAD 2002 Bible should be part of every user’s immediate environment. Work with it. Refer to it each time you have a question. Use it to augment the digital learning resources that come with AutoCAD 2002: AutoCAD Learning Assistance, AutoCAD Today, the Help system, and the online resources of Autodesk Point A, which is seamlessly integrated into AutoCAD 2002. Keep the AutoCAD 2002 Bible handy and browse through it whenever you need a break or have some spare time. You’ll discover myriad capabilities to AutoCAD 2002 you probably weren’t aware even existed. You’ll learn new and better ways to accomplish tasks, and continuously improve your overall performance using AutoCAD 2002. Wayne Hodgins Strategic Futurist Director, Worldwide Learning Strategies Autodesk, Inc. 013611-7 FM.F 9/11/01 9:50 AM Page vi Preface W elcome to the AutoCAD 2002 Bible. AutoCAD 2002 is the most powerful CAD software product available for PCs today. It can perform nearly any drawing task you can give it. This book is designed to be your comprehensive guide to the entire AutoCAD program. AutoCAD 2002 is the fastest, smoothest AutoCAD yet. Certain features have been added that are not even mentioned in this book because you never see them — you just notice that fewer regenerations occur, drawings load faster, and you spend less time waiting while drawing and editing. In addition to these refinements, of course, are the many new features covered in this book that will make your drawing easier and faster. The new features include both those introduced with 2000i, an interim release, and 2002. This book covers every major AutoCAD feature. If you’re a beginning AutoCAD user, you’ll find everything you need to start out; if you’re already using AutoCAD regu- larly, the book covers advanced material as well. It provides a solid reference base to come back to again and again, as well as short tutorials to get you drawing. Sidebar profiles show how companies out in the real world use AutoCAD. Finally, the CD-ROM is chock full of drawings, a trial version of AutoCAD 2002, and AutoLISP programs. This book should be all you need to make full use of that expensive pro- gram called AutoCAD. Is This Book for You? The AutoCAD 2002 Bible covers all the essential features of AutoCAD and includes clear, real-life examples and tutorials that you can adapt to your needs. Although I fully cover AutoCAD basics, I have also included material on the many advanced features, such as external database connectivity, AutoLISP, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), 3D modeling, rendering, and customization. The following categories should help you decide if this book is for you. If you are a new AutoCAD user If you are new to AutoCAD, the AutoCAD 2002 Bible guides you through all you need to know to start drawing effectively, whatever your field. 013611-7 FM.F 9/11/01 9:50 AM Page vii viii AutoCAD 2002 Bible If you are upgrading to AutoCAD 2002 This book highlights all the new features of AutoCAD 2002 and helps you make the upgrade transition as seamless as possible. If you are switching from another CAD program You already know what CAD is all about. This book clearly explains the AutoCAD way of drawing the models you have already been drawing. In addition, you’ll find a great deal of essential information about transferring information from other for- mats. How This Book Is Organized This book is divided into seven parts and five appendixes. Part I: AutoCAD Basics Part I provides the background information you need to start drawing. It starts with a “quick tour” that gets you drawing right away, and then covers how to start a drawing, use commands, specify coordinates, and set up a drawing. Part II: Drawing in Two Dimensions Part II covers all the commands and procedures for drawing and editing in two dimensions. In addition, I discuss how to control the drawing process with layers, zooming, and panning. Also included in this part is information about dimensioning, plotting, and printing. Part III: Working with Data Part III covers the many ways to organize and share data, including blocks, attributes, external references, and external databases. Part IV: Drawing in Three Dimensions Part IV explains everything you need to know to draw in three dimensions. It also discusses how to present 3D drawings using hiding, shading, and rendering tech- niques. Part V: Organizing and Managing Drawings Part V helps you incorporate AutoCAD into your work world by explaining how to set standards, manage drawings, and work with other applications. It concludes with a chapter on AutoCAD and the Internet. 013611-7 FM.F 9/11/01 9:50 AM Page viii ix Preface Part VI: Customizing AutoCAD Part VI introduces the tools you need to customize commands, toolbars, linetypes, hatch patterns, shapes, fonts, and menus. You’ll also find a chapter on script files, which you can use to create macros. Part VII: Programming AutoCAD Part VII introduces you to programming AutoCAD. It includes three chapters on AutoLISP and Visual LISP and one chapter on Visual Basic for Applications. Appendixes Appendix A gives instructions for installing and configuring AutoCAD. Appendix B covers all the ways to get help on AutoCAD, and Appendix C explains what you’ll find on the CD-ROM. The CD-ROM contains a complete copy of this book in PDF format. The book in that format includes two bonus appendixes. Appendix D displays all the menus and submenus as well as the toolbars and their flyouts. Appendix E lists new, changed, and discontinued commands and system variables as well as a list of system variables often used on the command line. How to Use This Book You can use this book in two ways: as a reference or as a learning tool or tutorial. As a reference The AutoCAD 2002 Bible is organized as a reference that you can refer to whenever you get stuck or when you try to do something for the first time. Each chapter cov- ers a topic completely, making it easy to find what you’re looking for. Each Step-by- Step exercise (with a few exceptions) can be done on its own without doing the other exercises in the chapter. You can easily look up a topic and complete a related exercise without having to go through the entire chapter. A complete index at the back of the book can also help you look up features and topics. As a tutorial The overall organization of the book goes from simple to complex, and each chap- ter has several Step-by-Step sections. This enables you to use the book as a tutorial — from beginning to end. You can then go back and redo any exercise when you need to refresh your memory on a particular feature. Cross- Reference 013611-7 FM.F 9/11/01 9:50 AM Page ix [...]... by Hungry Minds, Inc.) If you want just the basics, AutoCAD LT might serve your needs better However, if you do have AutoCAD and want a more basic book, I recommend AutoCAD 2002 For Dummies, by Bud Smith and Mark Middlebrook The AutoCAD 2002 Bible covers AutoCAD 2000i and 2002 However, most of the information also applies to Release 2000 I have used AutoCAD in Windows 98, but almost everything also applies... xvii Part I: AutoCAD Basics 1 Chapter 1: Starting to Draw 3 Getting Acquainted with AutoCAD 3 Starting AutoCAD 4 Creating a New Drawing 5 Working with AutoCAD Today 5 Using AutoCAD Today to create a new drawing 6 Using the AutoCAD Interface ... using another object selection method, or highlight text in a dialog box or text document What the Icons Mean The AutoCAD 2002 Bible is liberally sprinkled with icons — small symbols in the left margin that call your attention to noteworthy points New Feature The New Feature icon means that a feature is new to AutoCAD 2000i or 2002, or features that existed in Release 2000 but have been significantly changed... 897 898 899 900 903 xxxi 013611-7 FM.F xxxii 9/11/01 9:50 AM Page xxxii AutoCAD 2002 Bible Keeping Track of Your Drawings Archiving drawings Finding drawings Finding drawings from within AutoCAD Specifying drawing properties Using AutoCAD on a Network Using the Multiple Document Environment Handling Errors and Crashes Taking... Page x AutoCAD 2002 Bible For newcomers to AutoCAD, Parts I and II are essential After that, you can refer to chapters that interest you Parts III and V are also useful for beginners Intermediate users will probably be familiar with most of the material in Part I and will be more likely to skip around looking for the specific topics they need However, don’t forget that many of the new features for AutoCAD. .. features for AutoCAD 2002 are introduced in Part I Enough material appears in this book to bring intermediate users up to a fairly advanced level I have designed this book to be comprehensive and to include every significant feature of AutoCAD Therefore, do not be concerned if some of the material seems too advanced It will be there when you are ready for it Doing the Exercises AutoCAD is a very customizable... learn AutoCAD s features In addition, the CD-ROM includes the drawings that result once you finish an exercise or tutorial In this way, you can check what you have done if you wish The CD-ROM is also chock-full of resource material that I hope you will find useful for many years to come Appendix C lists the contents of the CD-ROM I am especially pleased to include a 15-day trial version of AutoCAD 2002. .. so you can go back and do only the exercise you need CrossReference You can create your own AutoCAD configuration that helps ensure that changes you make will not affect others Instructions for doing this appear in Appendix A under the heading “Creating Multiple Configurations.” The exercises in the AutoCAD 2002 Bible have been carefully checked by a technical editor to ensure accuracy However, we... for doing the Step-by-Step exercises as well AutoCAD commands AutoCAD uses standard Windows conventions for menus and toolbars To indicate that you should choose a command from the menu, for example, I say, “Choose View ➪ Viewports,” which means that you should click the View menu with your mouse or puck/stylus and then click the Viewports menu item Some of AutoCAD s toolbar buttons have flyouts, which... drawing within AutoCAD Using dialog boxes to open drawings Using an Existing Drawing as a Prototype Saving a Drawing Under a New Name 19 20 21 24 24 25 25 26 27 27 28 013611-7 FM.F xx 9/11/01 9:50 AM Page xx AutoCAD 2002 Bible Chapter . v vi AutoCAD 2002 Bible At Autodesk we prefer to think of more than just software, but rather the whole environment of an AutoCAD 2002 user. The AutoCAD 2002. 9:50 AM Page vii viii AutoCAD 2002 Bible If you are upgrading to AutoCAD 2002 This book highlights all the new features of AutoCAD 2002 and helps you make