Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
to use AutoCAD a long time ago, but gave up in frustration or just got rusty. Or maybe
you currently use an older release, such as AutoCAD 2006 or even (if you're into an-
tiques) AutoCAD 2000.
Whatever your current situation or motivation, I hope that you enjoy the process of be-
coming proficient with AutoCAD. Drawing with AutoCAD is challenging at first, but it's a
challenge worth meeting. AutoCAD rewards those who think creatively about their work
and look for ways to do it better. You can always find out more, discover a new trick, or
improve the efficiency and quality of your drawing production.
AutoCAD first hit the bricks in the early 1980s, around the same time as the first IBM
PCs. It was offered for a bewildering variety of operating systems, including CP/M (ask
your granddad about that one!), various flavors of Unix, and even Apple's Macintosh. By
far the most popular of those early versions was for MS-DOS (your dad can tell you
about that one). In 1997, Autodesk settled on Microsoft Windows as the sole operating
system for AutoCAD, and that was the case for the next 13 years. Then, in 2010,
Autodesk released its first non-Windows version for many years: AutoCAD for Mac. The
last version of AutoCAD to run on the Mac was Release 12, which appeared as long ago
as 1992. It's taken a while, but it looks like the Mac is back!
In this topic, I cover only the Windows versions of AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD LT 2012.
AutoCAD For Mac is different enough — in both capabilities and interface — from the
Windows versions that I simply can't cover it all here. If you're a Mac user with an in-
terest in running AutoCAD, check out
Mastering AutoCAD For Mac
by George Omura and
Rick Graham (Sybex Publishing).
AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD LT 2012 are supported in the following Windows flavors, in-
cluding both 32- and 64-bit versions:
Windows 7 and Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows 7 Professional
Windows 7 and Windows Vista Enterprise
Windows 7 and Windows Vista Ultimate
Windows Vista Business
Windows XP Professional
Windows XP Home (32-bit only)
Although not officially supported, AutoCAD 2012 (and AutoCAD LT 2012) can also run in
Windows XP Tablet 2005 Edition, and make use of the tablet functionality included in
