This course will teach you the fundamentals of AutoCAD, the leading design software, allowing you to take control of a professional workstation with confidence.

Whether it's an architectural drawing, a site plan for a new shopping complex, a 3D mechanical drawing, an artistic rendering, or even a Geographic Information System (GIS) system, you'll be able to control the software precisely and utilize it to make drawings from scratch, edit existing CAD models and print out quality drawings in any discipline.

Unlock the mysteries of this complex CAD program and learn how to navigate through the myriad of commands and features. This course will give you the skills needed to manage drawings and help you open doors so you can go to work in any industry that uses CAD drawings.

It will give you a solid background in CAD entities and expose you to most of the hundreds of commands available to manage those entities and orchestrate them into a digital model. There will be plenty of exposure to automation techniques and many links for furthering your comprehension in a variety of directions.

Not only will you be able to use CAD effectively to manage existing drawings, but you will be aware of a number of ways to leverage that knowledge in ways that most employers have only heard in sales pitches. Enrolling in this class and completing this self-paced tutorial will increase your marketability and improve your chances for advancement.

Topics include:

By the time you finish this course, you will have an overview of AutoCAD. For the "manager type" of student, this will probably be enough. If you're a technician, you'll want to continue on with AutoCAD II - Digging Deeper. These two courses together could be called, "AutoCAD Introduction - Part I, and AutoCAD Introduction - Part II." In fact, I almost called them that, but I just didn't like it as well.

These two courses will qualify you as a CAD technician. To really be beneficial to an employer, you'll most likely need about 1-2 years of experience to go along with the training. For those of you who are dedicated to becoming all that a CAD techie can be, stay tuned for a two-part series on AutoLisp, the programming language included with AutoCAD.

Is the ACAD software required?

Good question. The short answer is yes, you do need access to the AutoCAD software in order to learn how to use it effectively.

While it is quite possible to learn AutoCAD without having access to the software, it would certainly be challenging, to say the least. I would say that if you're the type of person who is meticulous and patient and persistent, you will be able to learn to use AutoCAD through this course. But it would mean going through extra steps of learning, searching out other sources of information and pictures of the ACAD interface. Specifically I am thinking of getting you access to the Help system files. I don't believe this would infringe on the copyright protection of the software since it would clearly be for educational purposes only, but you should check with your attorney.

I have no doubt that going through this course material will help you learn to use AutoCAD and prepare you for actual drafting whenever you do get access to the software. However I would also say that you won't really achieve the 'experience' part of the training. It's like learning to operate a car or a boat by reading.

The emphasis of my approach on teaching this course is on the Command Line portion of the interface, for several reasons. This would make learning by reading more suitable for a student like yourself, in my opinion.

I would suggest you approach your local college or public library and see if you can get access there, or see if you can borrow a copy from an engineering firm or download an evaluation or 'student' version of the software. I'm pretty sure you could at least get access to the Help files without too much trouble.

Where can I get the ACAD software?

Here's how to get a trial version of the software:

• Go to www.AutoDesk.com
• Follow the "Products" link
• Select the link to "AutoCAD" as the product
• Select the "Product Trial" link
• Select the "30-Day Trial CD" link or, if you have a really fast connection you can try the "30-Day Trial Download" instead. (Here's a hint, the CD works every time)

System Requirements

Intel® Pentium® III or later, with 800 MHz or faster processor, or compatible
Microsoft® Windows® XP (Professional, Home Edition, or Tablet PC Edition), Windows 2000, or Windows NT® 4.0 (SP6a or later)
256 MB RAM (recommended)
300 MB free disk space for installation
1024x768 VGA with true color (minimum)
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0
CD-ROM drive
Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device

Notice that it does NOT run on Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows ME. It's an evaluation copy which expires in 30 days. This is probably enough time to go through this course if you stay right on it. But note that it can only be loaded once on your PC, so you'll need to stay right on it, in order to finish within 30 days. You can also buy an older version on ebay. I had one student buy a copy of R12 for only $25. The course is written so that you won't need the newest version to learn. Most of the newer commands are fairly advanced, and this course is just an intro. So it will be using mostly commands that have been around since R10.