Book Image

Practical Autodesk AutoCAD 2023 and AutoCAD LT 2023 - Second Edition

By : Jaiprakash Pandey, Yasser Shoukry
Book Image

Practical Autodesk AutoCAD 2023 and AutoCAD LT 2023 - Second Edition

By: Jaiprakash Pandey, Yasser Shoukry

Overview of this book

AutoCAD is one of the most versatile software applications for architectural and engineering designs and the most popular computer-aided design (CAD) platform for 2D drafting and 3D modeling. This hands-on 2nd edition guide will take you through everything you need to know to make the most out of this powerful tool, from a simple tour of the user interface to using advanced tools. Starting with basic drawing shapes and functions, you'll get to grips with the fundamentals of CAD designs. You’ll then learn about effective drawing management using layers, dynamic blocks, and groups, and discover how to add annotations and plots like a professional. As you progress, the book will show you how to convert your 2D drawings into 3D models and shapes. You’ll also discover advanced features, such as isometric drawings, drawing utilities for managing and recovering complex files, quantity surveying, and multidisciplinary drawing files using xRefs. Finally, you’ll focus on rendering and visualizing your designs in AutoCAD. By the end of this book, you’ll have developed a solid understanding of CAD principles and be able to work with AutoCAD software confidently to build impressive 2D and 3D creations.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
1
Part 1: Introduction and 2D Drafting
6
Part 2: Customization, Collaboration, and Using Reusable Content
12
Part 3: 3D Modeling

Working with External References

When working on a large project, it becomes almost impossible to use only a single drawing for everything. As an example, if you are working on the plans for a large building, you can assign different team members working on the project to different parts of the drawing. A team member can work on the main plan, someone else can work on exteriors, another can work on electrical plans, and another person can work on heat and ventilation drawings. All these drawings can then be clubbed together into a single file using XRefs.

Using this method, you can have multiple people work on a single project seamlessly. Another advantage of using XRefs is that the people working on a project can focus just on their drawing and the drawing’s progress can be shared in real time.

In the following examples, we will learn everything about making and managing XRefs that lets everyone work in a collaborative environment.

Inserting XRefs

For this example...