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

The Block Count feature

This is a new feature added in the 2022 version of AutoCAD, and it really takes the pain out of finding the blocks count precisely and quickly in your drawing, especially in drawings containing hundreds or thousands of blocks. Using this feature, not only can you check the number of blocks in your drawing, but you can also display this count as fields or a table in the drawing.

Let’s start with the Floor Plan Sample drawing, as shown in the following diagram:

Figure 4.60: A sample drawing to be used for the Block Count feature

This sample file is available at C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2022\Sample\Database Connectivity\Floor Plan Sample.dwg. To count the blocks in this drawing, follow the following steps:

  1. Type COUNT into the command line and press Enter.
  2. Select an area in the drawing from where you want to count the blocks or press Enter without selecting an area to select the entire drawing.
  3. A table...