Acknowledgments ix
Foreword xxxi
Introduction xxxiii
Part I: Introducing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Basics 1
Quick Start: Drawing a Window 3
Summary 13
Chapter 1: Starting to Draw 15
Exploring AutoCAD's Advantages 15
Comparing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 16
Starting AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 16
Creating a New Drawing 17
Using the AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Interface 17
Exploring the drawing area 19
Exploring the ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar 20
Using the Application menu 20
Using the command line and dynamic input tooltip 21
Exploring the status bar 22
Creating a New Folder 22
Using the Interface 23
Saving a Drawing 25
Closing a Drawing and Exiting from AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 26
Summary 27
Chapter 2: Opening a Drawing 29
Creating a New Drawing from a Template 29
Working with Templates 31
Creating your own templates 31
Creating a Drawing with Default Settings 32
Opening an Existing Drawing 32
Switching among open drawings 33
Saving a Drawing under a New Name 33
Summary 33
Chapter 3: Using Commands 35
Understanding the AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Interface 35
Working with the ribbon 36
Displaying and using menus 37
Using shortcut menus 37
Working with dialog boxes 37
Using the Quick Access Toolbar 38
Managing palettes 38
Using the Tool Palettes window 38
Using the Command Line and Dynamic Input 39
Entering commands with Dynamic Input 40
Understanding command names 40
Responding to commands 42
Repeating commands 44
Using recent input 45
Canceling commands 45
Undoing a command 46
Redoing a command 47
Using one command within another command 48
Using Mice and Pucks 48
Getting Help 49
Getting help on a command 50
Using the main Help system 51
Summary 52
Chapter 4: Specifying Coordinates 53
Understanding the X,Y Coordinate System 53
Drawing units 54
Typing coordinates 54
Using the Dynamic Input tooltip to enter coordinates 54
Working with absolute Cartesian coordinates 59
Working with relative Cartesian coordinates 60
Using polar coordinates 61
Using direct distance entry 63
Working in orthogonal mode 64
Working with polar tracking 64
Displaying Coordinates 68
Picking Coordinates on the Screen 69
Using snap settings 69
Using object snaps 74
Running object snaps and Object Snap mode 78
Overriding Coordinate Settings 79
Locating Points 82
Using object snap tracking 82
Using the temporary tracking feature 86
Finding points with point filters 87
Finding offset points with the From feature 87
Summary 89
Chapter 5: Setting Up a Drawing 91
Choosing Unit Types 91
Setting the drawing units 92
Setting the angle type 92
Setting the angle measure and direction 94
Drawing Limits 95
Understanding Scales 96
Working with scale formats 97
Using annotative scales 98
Customizing the scale list 100
Deciding on a scale and sheet size 102
Creating a Titleblock 102
Specifying Common Setup Options 103
Summary 106
Part II: Drawing in Two Dimensions 107
Chapter 6: Drawing Simple Lines 109
Using the LINE Command 109
Drawing Rectangles 111
Drawing Polygons 111
Creating Construction Lines 114
Creating Rays 115
Summary 117
Chapter 7: Drawing Curves and Points 119
Drawing Circles 119
Understanding the circle options 119
Creating circles 120
Drawing Arcs 122
Understanding arc options 123
Creating arcs 124
Creating Ellipses and Elliptical Arcs 127
Understanding ellipse options 127
Understanding elliptical arc options 127
Drawing ellipses and elliptical arcs 128
Making Donuts 130
Understanding DONUT options 130
Drawing donuts 131
Placing Points 131
Changing the point style 131
Creating points 132
Summary 134
Chapter 8: Viewing Your Drawing 135
Regenerating and Redrawing the Display 135
Panning 136
Using the ZOOM Command 136
Understanding ZOOM options 137
Using ZOOM Dynamic 138
Using the SteeringWheels 141
Creating Named Views 143
Saving a view 143
Displaying a view 147
Managing named views 147
Creating animated presentations from named views 147
Using named views to manage a drawing 150
Working with Tiled Viewports 152
Configuring tiled viewports 153
Using tiled viewports 155
Saving and restoring viewport configurations 155
Using Snap Rotation 157
Understanding User Coordinate Systems 159
Understanding UCS options 159
Saving and restoring a custom UCS 160
Controlling the UCS icon 161
Creating Isometric Drawings 163
Understanding isometric planes 164
Drawing in Isometric mode 164
Summary 165
Chapter 9: Editing Your Drawing with Basic Tools 167
Editing a Drawing 167
Understanding object-selection basics 168
Erasing objects 169
Moving objects 170
Copying objects 173
Copying and moving objects from one drawing to another 177
Rotating objects 178
Scaling objects 180
Using the CHANGE command 182
Selecting Objects 184
Selecting objects after choosing a command 184
Cycling through objects 186
Selecting objects before choosing a command 187
Implied windowing 187
Customizing the selection process 190
Summary 192
Chapter 10: Editing Your Drawing with Advanced Tools 193
Copying and Moving Objects 194
Mirroring objects 194
Using the ARRAY command 196
Offsetting objects 203
Aligning objects 205
Resizing commands 209
Trimming objects 209
Extending objects 213
Lengthening and shortening objects 216
Stretching objects 219
Using Construction Commands 222
Breaking objects 222
Joining objects 223
Creating chamfered corners 226
Creating rounded corners 229
Creating a Revision Cloud 231
Hiding Objects with a Wipeout 233
Constraining Objects with Parameters 233
Using geometric constraints 234
Auto-constraining objects 236
Using dimensional constraints 237
Working with the Parameters Manager 239
Double-Clicking to Edit Objects 242
Editing with Grips 242
Stretching with grips 244
Moving with grips 245
Rotating with grips 245
Scaling with grips 245
Mirroring with grips 245
Customizing grips 247
Editing with the Quick Properties Palette and the Properties Palette 248
Using the Quick Properties palette 248
Using the Properties palette 249
Working with object selection in the Properties palette 251
Working with Selection Filters 252
Using Quick Select to select objects 252
Using the FILTER command 254
Naming and editing filters 256
Using filters 256
Working with Groups 257
Creating and modifying groups 257
Using groups 258
Summary 258
Chapter 11: Organizing Drawings with Layers and Object Properties 259
Working with Layers 260
Understanding layers 260
Creating new layers 261
Using layers 269
Using special layer tools 275
Modifying layers 278
Manipulating Object Color, Linetype, Lineweight, and Transparency 283
Changing an object's color 283
Changing the current color 284
Altering an object's linetype 284
Altering the current linetype 285
Changing an object's lineweight 285
Changing the current lineweight 286
Altering an object's transparency 286
Altering the current transparency 286
Working with Linetype Scales 289
Changing linetype spacing by using a different linetype 289
Changing linetype spacing by changing the global linetype scale 289
Altering linetype spacing by changing the object linetype scale 290
Matching Properties 293
Summary 294
Chapter 12: Obtaining Information from Your Drawing 295
Getting Drawing-Level Information 295
Listing the status of your drawing 295
Listing system variables 296
Tracking drawing time 298
Using Object-Level Information 298
Listing objects 299
Finding coordinates 300
Measuring objects 300
Getting information from the Properties palette 303
Getting information from the Quick Properties palette 304
Accessing Drawing Components 305
Using the Content Explorer 305
Finding components with the DesignCenter 307
Purging unused components 310
Dividing and Spacing Objects 312
Dividing objects 312
Measuring objects 313
The AutoCAD Calculator 315
Calculating numbers 316
Using coordinates 318
Using object snaps 318
Using the scientific calculator 319
Converting units 319
Working with QuickCalc variables 320
Using QuickCalc in the Properties palette 321
Summary 323
Chapter 13: Creating Text 325
Creating Single-Line Text 325
Justifying single-line text 326
Setting the height 328
Setting the rotation angle 328
Adding special characters and formatting 329
Editing single-line text 331
Understanding Text Styles 334
Creating a new text style 334
Renaming and deleting text styles 337
Modifying a text style 338
Making a style current or changing a text object's style 338
Importing a text style 339
Creating Multiline Text 339
Using the In-Place Text Editor 339
Creating text for different scales 348
Editing paragraph text 351
Importing text 351
Creating Tables 353
Inserting a table 353
Specifying a table style 355
Adding data to a table 358
Modifying a table 364
Inserting Fields 370
Creating fields 371
Editing and updating fields 373
Managing Text 374
Using Quicktext 374
Using AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT fonts 375
Turning off text layers 375
Using MIRRTEXT 375
Finding Text in Your Drawing 377
Checking Your Spelling 378
Summary 381
Chapter 14: Drawing Dimensions 383
Working with Dimensions 383
Understanding the elements of a dimension 384
Preparing to dimension 385
Drawing Linear Dimensions 386
Specifying the dimensioned object 386
Using dimension options 389
Creating jogged dimension lines 391
Drawing Aligned Dimensions 392
Specifying the dimensioned object 392
Using the options 393
Creating Baseline and Continued Dimensions 394
Drawing baseline dimensions 395
Drawing continued dimensions 396
Dimensioning Arcs and Circles 398
Marking arc and circle centers 398
Dimensioning arc lengths 399
Creating radial dimensions 399
Creating diameter dimensions 400
Dimensioning Angles 401
Creating Ordinate Dimensions 405
Drawing Leaders 407
Creating a multileader 408
Editing multileaders 408
Creating a multileader style 409
Aligning and combining leaders 412
Using Quick Dimension 416
Creating Inspection Dimensions 419
Creating Geometric Tolerances 421
Starting the tolerance frame 421
Inserting the tolerance frame 423
Editing a tolerance frame 423
Editing Dimensions 425
Editing associativity 425
Using the DIMEDIT command 427
Using the DIMTEDIT command 428
Flipping dimension arrows 429
Editing dimension text 430
Using the Properties palette to edit dimensions 430
Changing annotative scales 430
Spacing dimensions equally apart 431
Breaking dimensions 431
Using Quick Dimension to edit dimensions 432
Using grips to edit dimensions 433
Editing objects and dimensions together 434
Summary 436
Chapter 15: Creating Dimension Styles 437
Understanding Dimension Styles 437
Defining a New Dimension Style 439
Managing dimension lines 440
Defining symbols and arrows 442
Managing dimension text 446
Fitting dimensions into tight spaces 450
Defining primary units 456
Defining alternate units 459
Formatting tolerances 461
Changing Dimension Styles 464
Choosing a new current dimension style 464
Creating a variant of a dimension style 464
Modifying a dimension to use a new dimension style 465
Modifying dimension styles 465
Overriding a dimension style 466
Updating dimensions 467
Comparing dimension styles 467
Summary 470
Chapter 16: Drawing Complex Objects 471
Creating and Editing Polylines 471
Using the PLINE command 472
Editing polylines with the PEDIT command 475
Grip editing polylines 477
Editing polylines with the Properties palette or Quick Properties palette 478
Drawing and Editing Splines 480
Understanding splines 480
Creating splines 481
Editing splines 484
Creating Regions 486
Creating Boundaries 488
Creating Hatches 490
Understanding hatch patterns 491
Defining a hatch 491
Determining the hatch boundary 494
Managing islands 497
Dragging and dropping hatch patterns 498
Creating gradient fills 498
Editing hatches 499
Using the SOLID command 502
Creating and Editing Multilines 502
Creating a multiline style 503
Drawing multilines 507
Editing multilines 509
Creating Dlines in AutoCAD LT 511
Using the SKETCH Command 512
Digitizing Drawings with the TABLET Command 514
Summary 516
Chapter 17: Plotting and Printing Your Drawing 517
Preparing a Drawing for Plotting or Printing 517
Doing a draft plot 517
Plotting a drawing from model space 518
Creating a Layout in Paper Space 518
Entering paper space 518
Using the Layout Wizard 519
Laying out a drawing in paper space on your own 521
Annotating a layout 532
Saving a layout template 537
Working with Plot Styles 541
Setting the plot-style mode 541
Creating a plot-style table 542
Attaching a plot-style table to a layout 547
Setting the plot-style property for a layer or object 547
Plotting a Drawing 549
Specifying plot settings 551
Previewing your plot 553
Creating a plot stamp 553
Creating the plot 553
Summary 554
Part III: Working with Data 555
Chapter 18: Working with Blocks 557
Combining Objects into Blocks 557
Understanding base points and insertion points 558
Creating a block 558
Saving blocks as files 562
Replacing an existing file 564
Inserting Blocks and Files into Drawings 565
Using the Insert dialog box 565
Using the DesignCenter 568
Managing Blocks 571
Working with block layers 571
Exploding blocks 574
Using the XPLODE command 575
Redefining a block 577
Editing blocks 577
Creating and Using Dynamic Blocks 579
Understanding action-based parameters 580
Understanding the work flow of dynamic blocks 581
Defining a dynamic block with action-based parameters 582
Inserting and using dynamic blocks 595
Using Windows Features to Copy Data 604
Manipulating objects with the Windows Clipboard 604
Using drag-and-drop 605
Summary 606
Chapter 19: Adding Attributes to Blocks 607
Working with Attributes 607
Creating Attribute Definitions 608
Mode section 609
Attribute section 610
Text Settings section 610
Insertion Point section 610
Creating the Block 611
Inserting blocks with attributes 613
Editing Attributes 614
Editing attribute properties with the BATTMAN command 614
Editing attribute properties with the ATTEDIT command 617
Making global changes in attributes 618
Redefining attributes 619
Extracting a Database from Attributes 622
Summary 628
Chapter 20: Referencing Other Drawings 629
Understanding External References 629
Attaching an external reference 630
Opening an xref 632
Using the External References palette 632
Editing an Xref within Your Drawing 636
Choosing the xref or block to edit 636
Editing the xref 637
Controlling Xref Display 640
Working with dependent symbols in xrefs 640
Avoiding circular references 641
Clipping xrefs 641
Speeding up the display of large xrefs 643
Managing Xrefs 647
Getting xref notification 649
Using DesignCenter to Attach a Drawing 650
Attaching Xrefs and Drawings from the Content Explorer 650
Creating an xref log file 650
Working with DWF, DGN, and PDF Underlays 651
Attaching a DWF underlay 651
Attaching a DGN underlay 652
Attaching a PDF underlay 652
Modifying an underlay 652
Summary 655
Part IV: Drawing in Three Dimensions 657
Chapter 21: Specifying 3D Coordinates 659
Working in a 3D Environment 660
Using 3D Coordinates 661
Absolute and relative Cartesian coordinates in 3D 661
Cylindrical and spherical coordinates 662
Using editing commands with 3D wireframes 663
Using point filters, object snaps, object tracking, and grips in 3D 666
Creating 3D polylines 671
Creating helixes 671
Using point clouds 672
Using Elevation and Thickness 674
Creating surfaces with thickness 674
Using the HIDE command 676
Controlling the display of hidden lines and objects 677
Adding elevation to objects 679
Working with the User Coordinate System 681
UCSs and viewpoints 682
Dragging the UCS icon 682
Using UCS options to change the UCS 683
Changing the UCS dynamically 684
Summary 689
Chapter 22: Viewing 3D Drawings 691
Working with the Standard Viewpoints 692
Looking at a drawing from the standard viewpoints 693
Using VPOINT 695
Using the ViewCube to View Your Drawing 697
Creating a Named View with a Camera 698
Creating a camera 699
Editing a camera 700
Adding a Background to a Named View 704
Displaying a Quick Plan View 705
Displaying Parallel and Perspective Projections 706
Using 3D Orbit 706
Starting 3D Orbit 706
Navigating with 3D Orbit 708
Refining your 3D Orbit view 710
Using ShowMotion to Cycle Through Views 713
Creating shots 713
Displaying shots 715
Walking Through a Model 716
Navigating in Walk mode 717
Specifying Walk mode settings 718
Flying through a model 718
Saving the walk as a movie file 719
Using a motion path to save a movie file 720
Navigating with the SteeringWheels 724
Using DVIEW to Create a Perspective View 726
Using DVIEW 726
Understanding the DVIEW options 727
Working with Visual Styles 729
Displaying visual styles in AutoCAD 729
Creating custom visual styles 730
Using the shading options in AutoCAD LT 733
Display materials, textures, and lights as you work 734
Laying Out 3D Drawings 735
Flattening 3D drawings 736
Creating 2D view objects 737
Using SOLVIEW to lay out paper space viewports 740
Using SOLDRAW to create hidden lines and hatching 742
Using SOLPROF to create profiles 742
Printing in 3D 743
Summary 744
Chapter 23: Creating 3D Surfaces 747
Drawing Surfaces with 3DFACE 748
Using the 3DFACE command 749
Making 3D face edges invisible 749
Drawing Surfaces with PFACE 754
Creating Polygon Meshes with 3DMESH 758
Using the 3DMESH command 758
Drawing Procedural and NURBS Surfaces 760
Creating Planar Surfaces 761
Revolved surfaces 762
Drawing an Extruded Surface 767
Working with the TABSURF command 768
Working with the EXTRUDE command 770
Sweeping objects along a path 772
Drawing Surfaces Between Objects 773
Creating ruled surfaces 773
Lof ting objects 775
Using the EDGESURF command 776
Using the SURFNETWORK command 778
Connecting surfaces with the SURFBLEND command 780
Patching holes with the SURFPATCH command 782
Editing and Analyzing Surfaces 784
Creating surfaces with the SURFOFFSET command 785
Trimming and extending surfaces 786
Filleting surfaces with the SURFFILLET command 787
Projecting objects onto surfaces 789
Analyzing surfaces 790
Working with Multiple Types of Objects 791
Converting 2D objects to surfaces 791
Converting meshes to smooth surfaces 791
Thickening a surface into a solid 792
Sculpting surfaces to create a solid 792
Extracting edges and isolines from a surface, solid, or a region 792
Summary 793
Chapter 24: Creating Solids and Editing in 3D 795
Drawing Basic Smooth Solids 796
Drawing a box 796
Drawing a wedge 797
Drawing a cone 798
Drawing a sphere 799
Drawing a cylinder 799
Drawing a torus 800
Drawing a pyramid 801
Creating Extruded Solids 804
Managing objects used to make other objects 804
Using the EXTRUDE command 805
Drawing Swept Solids 807
Drawing Revolved Solids 809
Drawing Lofted Solids 810
Drawing Polyline-Like Solids 813
Manipulating Solids 816
Grip-editing solids 816
Selecting subobjects 816
Moving, rotating, and scaling with the gizmos 817
Working with Mesh Shapes 823
Creating meshes 823
Editing meshes 823
Converting solids and meshes 826
Creating Complex Solids 831
Combining solids 831
Subtracting solids 832
Creating a solid from the intersection of two solids 833
Creating a solid from surfaces that enclose a volume 833
Creating a new solid by using INTERFERE 833
Pressing or pulling a region 836
Using solid history 837
Sectioning and Slicing Solids 839
Using the SECTION command 839
Creating an interactive section object 840
Using the SLICE command 842
Using Editing Commands in 3D 844
Mirroring in 3D 845
Arraying in 3D 846
Rotating in 3D 850
Aligning in 3D 852
Trimming and extending in 3D 854
Filleting in 3D 854
Chamfering in 3D 856
Exploding and converting 3D objects 856
Using the SOLIDEDIT Command 857
Editing faces 857
Editing edges 861
Editing bodies 861
Listing Solid Properties 865
Summary 866
Part V: Organizing and Managing Drawings 867
Chapter 25: Keeping Control of Your Drawings 869
Accessing Drawing Content with Tool Palettes 869
Creating a new tool palette 871
Adding content tools 871
Adding command tools 872
Copying a tool 872
Setting tool properties 873
Organizing tool palettes 876
Using a tool palette 876
Setting Standards for Drawings 879
Using the CAD Standards tools 880
Using layer notification 886
Translating layers 887
Renaming named objects 891
Working with Sheet Sets 891
Understanding sheet sets 892
Creating a sheet set 894
Setting up sheet set references 899
Using a sheet set 908
Organizing Your Drawings 914
Archiving drawings 914
Finding drawings 915
Specifying drawing properties 916
Maintaining Security 917
Password protection 917
Digital signatures 918
Keeping Track of Referenced Files 918
Handling Errors and Crashes 920
Taking care of temporary files 920
Repairing corrupted drawing files 921
Using backup drawings 922
Recovering from a crash 923
Managing Drawings from Prior Releases 923
Summary 924
Chapter 26: Working with Other Applications 925
Importing and Exporting Other File Formats 926
Exporting drawings 926
Importing files 931
Referencing geographic location data 934
Working with Raster Images 935
Attaching images 936
Managing images 937
Clipping images 939
Controlling image display 940
Pasting, Linking, and Embedding Objects 943
Embedding objects into a drawing 944
Using Paste Special 946
Linking data 947
Summary 950
Chapter 27: Collaborating and Creating Electronic Output 951
Opening Drawings from the Web 951
Using the Browse the Web dialog box 951
Using i-drop to drag objects into a drawing 952
Working with drawings on Autodesk 360 952
Sharing Comments with Design Feed 954
Creating Object Hyperlinks 955
Creating a hyperlink 956
Using a hyperlink 958
Editing a hyperlink 958
Publishing Drawings 959
Understanding DWF and DWFx files 960
Creating 2D DWF and DWFx files 960
Creating 3D DWF and DWFx files 966
Using the Publish to Web Wizard 967
Posting DWF and DWFx files directly 970
Editing web pages 971
Viewing DWF and DWFx drawings 971
Sending Drawings 977
Using eTransmit 977
Specifying transmittal settings 978
Summary 981
Part VI: Customizing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 983
Chapter 28: Customizing Commands, Toolbars, and Tool Palettes 985
Working with Customizable Files 985
Editing customizable files 988
Backing up customizable files 988
Using the command-line form of commands 989
Documenting your files 992
Creating Aliases for Commands 992
Creating aliases to Windows programs 993
Creating aliases to commands 993
Editing autocorrect and synonym lists 996
Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar 996
Creating and displaying a Quick Access Toolbar 997
Adding buttons 998
Creating a custom command 999
Removing custom commands 1002
Adding a drop-down list 1002
Customizing Toolbars 1006
Customizing classic toolbars 1006
Creating a new toolbar 1007
Removing buttons from a toolbar 1008
Creating flyouts 1008
Customizing the Status Bar 1009
Customizing Tool Palettes 1009
Summary 1011
Chapter 29: Creating Macros and Slide Shows 1013
Creating Macros with Script Files 1013
Creating the script file 1014
Running a script file 1015
Recording Actions 1018
Creating an action macro 1019
Editing an action macro 1020
Managing a macro file 1021
Playing back a macro 1021
Creating Slide Shows 1021
Creating slides 1021
Viewing slides 1022
Using scripts to create slide shows 1023
Creating Slide Libraries 1024
Summary 1026
Chapter 30: Creating Your Own Linetypes and Hatch Patterns 1027
Creating Linetypes 1027
Creating simple linetypes 1027
Creating complex linetypes 1029
Creating Hatch Patterns 1033
Summary 1038
Chapter 31: Creating Shapes and Fonts 1039
Creating Shapes 1040
Using shape files 1040
Creating shape files 1040
Editing shape files 1048
Creating Fonts 1048
Summary 1049
Chapter 32: Customizing the Ribbon and Menus 1051
Working with the Customization File 1051
Understanding the customization file 1051
Loading and unloading customization files 1052
Customizing the Interface 1055
Looking at a ribbon panel 1056
Writing macros 1059
Customizing the ribbon 1061
Customizing the Menu bar and shortcuts menus 1064
Customizing mouse buttons and tablet buttons 1073
Customizing image-tile menus 1075
Customizing tablet menus 1076
Creating keyboard shortcuts 1076
Customizing the double-click behavior 1079
Customizing the Quick Properties palette and rollover tooltips 1079
Summary 1081
Part VII: Programming AutoCAD 1083
Chapter 33: Understanding AutoLISP and Visual LISP Basics 1085
Introducing Visual LISP 1086
Opening Visual LISP 1086
Opening and loading an AutoLISP file with Visual LISP 1086
Loading an AutoLISP file 1086
Using an AutoLISP routine in AutoCAD 1089
Looking at an AutoLISP routine 1090
Using the Visual LISP Editor 1091
Closing a file and Visual LISP 1092
Getting Help in Visual LISP 1093
Working with AutoLISP Expressions 1094
Understanding AutoLISP syntax 1094
Working with numbers and text 1094
Using AutoLISP on the Command Line 1096
Creating AutoLISP Files 1097
Summary 1100
Chapter 34: Exploring AutoLISP Further 1101
Creating Variables 1101
Working with AutoCAD Commands 1102
Accessing AutoCAD commands 1103
Creating functions 1103
Creating functions with arguments 1106
Working with system variables 1108
Working with Lists 1110
Using lists for coordinates 1110
Creating dotted pairs 1111
Setting Conditions 1112
Using conditional statements 1112
Using Loop statements 1114
Managing Drawing Objects 1116
Getting information about an object 1116
Modifying objects 1119
Access an object's properties directly 1120
Creating selection sets 1121
Getting Input from the User 1124
Putting on the Finishing Touches 1126
Summary 1128
Chapter 35: Exploring Advanced AutoLISP Topics 1129
Understanding Global and Local Variables 1129
Working with Visual LISP ActiveX Functions 1131
Reviewing AutoLISP retrieval and modification 1131
Using ActiveX with Visual LISP 1136
Debugging Code 1140
Using the Error Trace window 1141
Working with breakpoints 1142
Using the Watch window 1145
Summary 1147
A Final Word 1147
Part VIII: Appendixes 1149
Appendix A: Installing and Configuring AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 1151
Appendix B: AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Resources 1191
Appendix C: What's on the Companion Website 1197
Index 1201
Bonus Chapters on the Companion Website
Chapter 1: Working with External Databases
Chapter 2: Rendering in 3D
Chapter 3: Programming with Visual Basic for Applications
Chapter 4: Programming with NET
