Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
The new Drawing Views panel on the AutoCAD 2012 Annotate tab con-
tains a group of commands that help you generate 2D views of imported 3D mod-
els. This panel is not included in AutoCAD LT, and I don't cover the feature in this
topic.
Parametric:
This tab is home for one of AutoCAD 2012's most powerful features —
parametric drawing. You can apply geometric or dimensional parameters or con-
straints to drawing objects so that, say, two circles are always concentric or the
length of a rectangle is always twice its width. (AutoCAD LT is limited in this de-
partment: You can modify or delete existing constraints, but you need the full ver-
sion to create them.) I introduce parametric drawing in Chapter 19.
View:
The View tab contains tools and panels for controlling drawing display, work-
ing with user coordinate systems and viewports, loading various palettes, and or-
ganizing Windows functions such as cascading open files or displaying different
parts of the application window. I explain most of the features on this tab later in
the topic.
Manage:
This tab contains panels that access the Action Recorder, CAD Standards
(neither of which is in AutoCAD LT), and a set of drawing management and cus-
tomization tools. I don't cover anything on the Manage tab in this topic.
Output:
Panels on this tab allow you to get those drawings off your hands by print-
ing, publishing, exporting to PDF or DWF, or simply sending them electronically to
others. I cover some of these functions in Chapter 16.
Plug-Ins:
This new tab is present in both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, al-
though in LT, there is only one panel instead of two. Both versions have a Content
panel with a single Explore button that runs the new Content Explorer tool. After
you let it index your file folders, Content Explorer can winnow through all your
drawings looking for specific blocks, layers, layouts, and even text strings.
AutoCAD itself also has an Inventor Fusion panel, from which you can edit solids
and surfaces in a stripped-down version of Autodesk Inventor.
Online:
This new tab is also present in both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT,
and this time, the tabs are identical. Most of the buttons fire up a log-in screen for
