42	Part I AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Basics

5.Choose Circle from the Draw toolbar. The following prompt appears:

Command: Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: Pick any point at the center of your screen.

Specify radius of circle or [Diameter]:

6.At this point, say that you want to see the drawing closer up to properly decide where to place the radius of the circle. Type 'zoom . The following appears on the command line. (You may need to press F2 to see the entire prompt.) Follow the prompts.

>>Specify corner of window, enter a scale factor (nX or nXP), or [All/Center/Dynamic/Extents/Previous/Scale/Window] <real time>: 2x Resuming CIRCLE command.

Specify radius of circle or [Diameter]:

7.Now suppose that you want the radius to be equal to the width of the window in your other drawing. Choose ab01-01.dwg from the Windows taskbar.

8.The dimension text clearly states that the window is 3'8" wide, which is 42 inches.

9.Click the taskbar button for your original drawing.

10.Type 42 to create the circle. If necessary, choose View Zoom Out until you can see the entire drawing.

11.Close ab01-01.dwg. Do not save the other drawing.

Looking at the prompts for the transparent use of the ZOOM command carefully, note three features:

The ZOOM command is preceded by an apostrophe. This is the sign of a transparent command.

The prompt for the transparent command is preceded by >>. This helps you distinguish between the prompts of the original command and the transparent command that is embedded in it.

When the transparent command is complete, the prompt tells you. In this case, you see

Resuming CIRCLE command.

Experiment using transparent commands, and you’ll soon find them indispensable.

Of Mice and Pucks

For the sake of simplicity, this book assumes that you’re using a mouse, but many people use a digitizing tablet and a puck (or a stylus). A typical digitizing tablet and puck are shown in Figure 3-7. A puck often has more buttons than a mouse and also has crosshairs on a transparent area that you can use for accurately picking points from a paper drawing.

The digitizing tablet is generally configured to include an area that represents the screen you draw on as well as a customizable command area that you use for commands. This command area of the tablet functions as another menu. Figure 3-8 shows the default tablet provided with AutoCAD. (AutoCAD LT has a similar one.) The tablet is generally customized to suit individual needs. Each square is equivalent to a toolbar button and executes a command when you click it. The top area is left blank for you to include your own commands. This area is often used to insert parts from a library of standardized parts. Examples would be gaskets and valves in a mechanical drawing environment or doors and windows in an architectural environment.

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Figure 3-7: A digitizer and puck.

Figure 3-8: The standard tablet menu.

44	Part I AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Basics

The square area in the right-center represents the drawing area. In this area, the puck functions like a mouse to draw, as well as to access menus and dialog box options. The tablet can also be used for a process called digitizing, which means transferring data from paper into AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT. This transference is often done by putting a paper document directly on the tablet and using the entire tablet as a drawing area. Because the puck has crosshairs on a transparent surface, you can pick points on the drawing, which then become endpoints of lines, for example.

Getting Help

AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT have so many commands with so many options that every user needs help at some time. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT come with a very complete Help system. A complete set of links and tabs makes navigating through the topics and finding related material easy.

Cross-	See Bonus Chapter 2 on the CD-ROM for help available on the Internet and other resources.
Reference

Getting help on a command

The easiest way to get help on a command is to start the command and press F1. The help screen for that command opens up. Figure 3-9 shows the screen that opens when you type zoom and then press F1.

Note	After you have opened the Help window one time, when you press F1 it may only cause the
	window to blink on the Windows task bar. Go to the task bar and click the blinking button to
	open the Help window.

Figure 3-9: The help screen for the ZOOM command.

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Using the main help system

When you have a question, try the Help system. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT come with the most complete Help documentation I have ever seen in a program.

Clicking F1 (with no command active) or choosing Help Help opens the User Documentation window, shown in Figure 3-10 with the Contents tab on top. Double-clicking Command Reference on the Contents tab leads you to help on commands and system variables. Double-click User’s Guide for the “how-to” manual. You can also click the plus sign to the left to expand the display of topics. If you click any topic on the left, you see it in the right panel.

Figure 3-10: The User Documentation window showing the Contents tab and the screen on AutoCAD 2005 Help.

The Help system has five tabs that offer five different ways of finding the help you need. You might need to drag the border between the tabs and the right panel to see the rightmost tab.

The Contents tab

The Contents tabs displays help organized by topic. It’s like the table of contents of a book. Click the icon of a book to open that topic and see subtopics. Click a topic to see it displayed in the right panel.

The Index tab

If you have an idea in your head but don’t know the command name, you may want to use the index. The index is an alphabetical listing of topics. In the text box, type the first few letters of the word or words for which you want help. As you type, the list jumps to the closest match.

When you’ve found the topic you want, highlight it and click Display (or double-click it). Sometimes subtopics appear from which you can choose.

46	Part I AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Basics

The Search tab

The Search tab enables you to find keywords from all the words in the Help screens. Type a word in the text box and click List Topics. Choose a topic and click Display (or double-click the topic) to display it on the right.

The Favorites tab

Collect your favorite Help topics on the Favorites tab. First, display the topic by using one of the other tabs. Then click the Favorites tab and click Add. To display a Help topic from the Favorites list, double-click it.

The Ask Me tab

The Ask Me tab enables you to ask a question in real English and get the answer you want — hopefully. Type a question or phrase and press Enter. Then click one of the suggested links to see the topic displayed in the right pane.

Working with Help screens

The Help screens have several features that you should know so you can make the best use of them. Many of the topics displayed on the right have three tabs:

Concepts: The overall description

Procedures: How to do it

Reference: Related commands

After you arrive at the Help screen you want, look for links to related topics.

At the top of most screens are several buttons. The selection of buttons depends on which aspect of Help you’re accessing. These buttons help you navigate the Help system quickly and easily:

Hide/Show: Hides the left pane so that you can work and look at a Help screen at the same time. When hidden, the button becomes a Show button that displays the left pane.

Back: Returns you to the previous Help screen you viewed.

Print: Prints the topic.

Options: Offers further options such as going to the Home Help page and refreshing the screen.

Using the Info palette

The Info palette offers you context-sensitive Quick Help as you work. It’s great for beginners, but you’ll eventually find it a nuisance because it pops up in front of your work. The Info palette may be on by default when you install the program.

To open the Info palette, choose Help Info Palette or press Ctrl+5. As you use commands, a brief explanation appears. Figure 3-11 shows the screen that appears when you start the ARC command.

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Figure 3-11: The Info palette displays Help for the command you’re using.

You can close the Info palette by clicking its Close box at the top of the palette title bar or pressing Ctrl+5.

Getting more help

The Help menu has some additional options that provide more specialized assistance. When you choose Help from the menu bar, choose one of these four other items:

Info Palette: Opens the Info palette with the Quick Help feature, explained in the previous section.

Developer Help: Opens the Help system for topics relating to programming AutoCAD (see Part VII of this book). (AutoCAD only.)

New Features Workshop: Provides a combination of explanation and tutorials on new AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005 features. For those upgrading from 2002 or prior, the New Features Workshop also outlines the changes made in AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 2004.

Online Resources: Connects you to various support and training options on Autodesk’s Web site.

In this exercise, you practice using the Help system.

STEP-BY-STEP: Using AutoCAD Help

1.If AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT is not open, start the program with the acad.dwt template. If the program is already open, you can do this exercise with any drawing on the screen.

2.Choose Circle from the Draw toolbar. At the prompt, press F1 on the keyboard. The Circle Help screen opens. (If it doesn’t open, click the Help window’s button on the Windows task bar.)

3.Click 2P (Two Points), which appears underlined. The 2P description appears. Read the description of the 2P option.

4.Click the Close button at the top-right corner of the Help screen. Click anywhere in the application window to activate the window and press Esc to exit the CIRCLE command.

5.Choose Help Help.