An X-ref is an ‘external reference' to another AutoCAD drawing file. One file can reference many other files and display them as if they were one. These are used in larger projects for many reasons and we are going to look into it now.

submitted: 5 years and 3092 days ago

AutoCAD has many tools to help you as a designer. Some of these you may have already used. The properties command gives you a lot of information about an object you have selected and allows you change most of them. AutoCAD also has some commands used specifically for pulling information from objects.

submitted: 5 years and 3092 days ago

If you are not familiar with grips so far, know that these are the ‘blue squares' that get highlighted when you select an object outside of a command.

submitted: 5 years and 3093 days ago

When you have been drawing in AutoCAD during these tutorials, almost all of the lines have been continuous. This is a particular linetype. Most simple drawings can be drawn with just this one linetype. More advanced drawings will require different linetypes such as center lines, hidden lines, phantom lines and others.

submitted: 5 years and 3093 days ago

Object snaps (Osnaps) are one of the handiest tools in AutoCAD. Without them, you would have a lot of trouble doing even the simplest dimension accurately. Before discussing how they are used, first think about what they are. Their name, "object snaps" means that they snap to objects, or more precisely, they snap to specific parts of an object. A line for example has 3 points that you can snap to: a midpoint and two endpoints. A circle has 5 points: a center and 4 quadrants. To use Osnaps effectively, you must know what points an object has that you are able to snap to.

submitted: 5 years and 3093 days ago

Whether you know it not, you have already used templates to begin a new drawing. AutoCAD uses a template every time it starts up. If you do not designate your own template, AutoCAD will use a default one.

submitted: 5 years and 3093 days ago

This lesson will include a look at the new lighting and rendering options in AutoCAD 2007.

submitted: 5 years and 3106 days ago

This lesson is designed to show how to create simple building in 3D from start to finish. The same process can be used to build more complex buildings as well.

submitted: 5 years and 3106 days ago

There is only one way to get better at AutoCAD and that is to practice. In 3D, you not only need to know the commands, but also how best to use them. As you start drawing in 3D, you may start looking at everyday objects and think about how they would be drawn. Look at the sample drawing page and think about how they were done - using only the commands shown in this level.

submitted: 5 years and 3106 days ago

Whenever you are attaching materials to an object in AutoCAD, you are effectively ‘stretching' the image of the material around the object. For many objects, this can be acceptable. For a lot of others, though, you may want to adjust how the material is displayed on the object. This process is called mapping. The commands in this lesson replace the SETUV commands used in previous versions of AutoCAD.

submitted: 5 years and 3106 days ago