Wiley AutoCAD 2008 and AutoCAD LT 2008 Bible 978-0-470-12049-1 User Manual

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n this chapter, I explain the essentials that you need to start drawings. After a
little background, I discuss the basics of the screen that you see when you
open AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT, and how to use it. If you’ve never used

AutoCAD before, do the Quick Start chapter first, “Quick Start: Drawing a
Window.”

AutoCAD and its younger brother, AutoCAD LT, are both created by Autodesk.
Together they are the most widely used technical drawing programs anywhere.
AutoCAD alone has more than 3,000,000 registered users. According to
Autodesk, CAD stands for computer-aided design, but it can also stand for
computer-aided drafting or drawing.

The first version of AutoCAD, running under DOS, came out in 1982. AutoCAD
was the first significant CAD program to run on a desktop computer. At the time,
most other technical drawing programs ran on high-end workstations or even
mainframes. AutoCAD LT was introduced in 1993, as a less expensive alternative
to AutoCAD, for people who don’t need all of AutoCAD’s advanced features.

AutoCAD’s success has been attributed to its famous open architecture — the flexi-
bility that the end user has to customize the program using source code files in
plain text (ASCII) format — and programming languages (such as AutoLISP and
Visual Basic for Applications).

As a result, AutoCAD is an extremely flexible drafting program, applicable to all
fields. AutoCAD’s support for languages other than English, including those
using other alphabets, is unparalleled, making AutoCAD highly popular abroad.
As a result, AutoCAD is used in all disciplines and in more than 150 countries.

Through a high level of technical innovation and expertise, Autodesk has created
a program with advanced features and capabilities, including 3D surface and

Starting to Draw

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