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 AutoCAD tables

Just like text, dimension and multileader tables are also used for adding annotations to a drawing. Tables can be used to create a bill of materials or title block, or even just to add a simple set of information. The application of the table tool in AutoCAD is limited only by your imagination.

In AutoCAD, you can make a table directly, or you can also import an external table made with Microsoft Excel (or other programs) that is saved in Excel format.

In this section, we will start by learning how to add a simple AutoCAD table, which will be a simple cost estimation table in this case. After using the simple table tool, we will move on to learn about importing external tables and exporting AutoCAD tables as well. We will also learn how to make table styles within AutoCAD, which will basically define the properties of our table.

So, let’s begin by creating a simple table in AutoCAD.

Making a table in AutoCAD

The Table tool is on the...