Beginning AutoCAD® 2021 Exercise Workbook

There’s simply no better resource for anyone learning about and/or teaching CAD software than the Beginning AutoCAD^® Exercise Workbook.

Veteran AutoCAD experts and former instructors Shrock and Heather have packed the 2021 version with a vastly improved interior design layout, 30 in-depth lessons with hundreds of useful practice exercises, and all new screenshots, along with tried and true features such as “CAD tips” and side-by-side metric/inch measurements. The detailed, step-by-step format makes mastering AutoCAD much easier, in or out of a formal classroom.

Features

• Streamlined Trim and Extend command—Boundary edges are now selected automatically, making trimming or extending objects far more efficient.

• Revision Cloud enhancements—Users can use one value that measures the chord distance between the end points of each cloud arc to create more consistent revision clouds.

• Measure Geometry: Quick Measure—The area and perimeter of closed objects (and even multiple objects) can be measured with a simple click, all in one go.

• Beginning AutoCAD 2021 contains more content than ever before, yet has been redesigned and reduced by more than 100 pages, making it more manageable to read and carry.

Free download: To download a zip file containing the supplied preset setup drawing-ready files, to open and use as templates for initial practice, as mentioned and used in this book click here.

If you like this book, also check out the

AutoCAD 3D Modeling Exercise Workbook,

AutoCAD 2D Resource Kit,

and the new Beginning AutoCAD 2025 Exercise Workbook.

Cheryl Shrock is a retired Professor and Chairperson of Computer Aided Design at Orange Coast College in California. She developed the world-reknowned AutoCAD^® Exercise Workbooks for classroom and self-study use as a result of both her teaching skills and extensive industry experience. An acclaimed AutoCAD expert, she is an Autodesk^® registered author.

Steve Heather is a former Lecturer of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Aided Design in England. For more than a decade, he has been a Beta Tester for Autodesk, testing the latest AutoCAD software. Previous to teaching, and for over 30 years, Heather worked as a Precision Engineer in the aerospace and defense industries. In addition to co-authoring the Beginning and Advanced AutoCAD^® Exercise Workbooks and the AutoCAD^® Pocket Reference, he also is author of AutoCAD^® 3D Modeling and the Engineers Precision Data Pocket Reference and is a key engineering consultant and contributor to the Machinery’s Handbook. Steve welcomes inquiries about his books; you can reach him by emailing info@industrialpress.com.

Meet Author Steve Heather!

To read an interview with this world-class AutoCAD expert,

click here for our 3D Modeling newsletter.

Partial Table of Contents

• Starting AutoCAD
• Creating & Using a Template
• Selecting a Command
• Drawing Lines
• Erase
• Undo and Redo
• Starting a New Drawing
• Opening Multiple Files
• Automatic Save
• Circle
• Rectangle
• Grid and Increment Snap
• Transparency
• Object Snap
• Zoom
• Drawing Setup
• Polygon
• Ellipse
• Point
• Break
• Trim
• Extend
• Move
• Drag
• Explode
• Copy
• Mirror
• Fillet
• Chamfer
• Single & Multiline Text
• Tabs & Indents
• Columns
• Paragraph & Line Spacing
• Editing
• Coordinate Input
• Absolute Coordinates
• Direct Distance Entry (DDE)
• Measure Tools
• Moving the Origin
• Displaying the UCS Icon
• Polar Coordinate Input
• Dynamic Input
• Polar Tracking
• Using Polar Tracking & DDE
• Polar Snap
• Offset
• Properties Palette
• Quick Properties Panel
• Array
• Scale: Stretch: Rotate
• Hatch Types
• Editing Hatch Set Properties
• Linear, Continue, & Baseline Dimensioning
• Ignoring Hatch Objects
• Editing Dimension Text Values
• Modifying a Dimension Style
• Dimension Breaks
• Jogging a Dimension Line
• Adjusting the Distance Between Dimensions
• Dimensioning Diameters & Radii
• Angular Dimensioning
• Center Mark—Automatic & Manual
• Centerline
• Flip Arrow
• Creating a Multileader Style
• Special Text Characters
• Dim Command

…and much more!