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Reuse of any or all material contained within this document for commercial purposes,without the express written consent of AUGI, Inc. or its authorized agents is expresslyprohibited.
 © Copyright 2009 Autodesk User Group International, Inc. All rights reserved.
 
1
ATP239
Start Using AutoCAD® Architecture Now!
 
Segment 1
Date:
 March 9, 2009
Instructor: 
Beth Powell
 Level:
Beginner
 Category: 
AutoCAD Architecture
Web:
 
www.AUGI.com
 
 
 
Reuse of any or all material contained within this document for commercial purposes,without the express written consent of AUGI, Inc. or its authorized agents is expresslyprohibited.
 © Copyright 2009 Autodesk User Group International, Inc. All rights reserved.
 
2
Introduction
AutoCAD Architecture (ACA) or Architectural Desktop (ADT) is based on AutoCAD. Therefore, it canbe used exactly as if you only installed AutoCAD. Yes, you can even choose during installation tocreate a shortcut for AutoCAD.The fact that you can use AutoCAD commands and may have a history with using AutoCAD is part ofthe beauty of AutoCAD Architecture. You’re certainly not breaking any rules in only using linework andthe CAD Police will not haul you away. The real question is what feature(s) prompted you or your firmto purchase this program instead of plain, vanilla AutoCAD? If you are only using it as AutoCAD, thenyou really aren’t getting anything out of your investment.I understand all too well how overwhelming AutoCAD Architecture can be. I also understand that thereare small steps that you can take to start using AutoCAD Architecture NOW!
What are the differences between AutoCAD and AutoCAD Architecture?
AutoCAD Architecture relies on
objects 
, rather than linework. Objects are not just blocks, but are 3Dobjects that understand their identity, how to get along with other objects, and have much moreintelligence in the form of properties and property sets.An example of this is a door. In AutoCAD, you might use a block of a door symbol in plan view. Youcould assign attributes to the door, but you probably would not have several different door blocks withdifferent attributes. If you drew multilines or a line with an offset to represent a wall and inserted thedoor block, you would need to trim those lines. If you moved the door, you would need to use the trimand extend commands with this process.With AutoCAD Architecture, a door knows it is a door. It knows that doors are found in walls. Thereare not doors in windows or roofs. There are not doors in lines. There are not doors in green eggs andham! The door knows its place in the food chain of architecture. It knows that it belongs in a wall. Thewall knows its place as well. It welcomes the door openly by creating an opening in itself for the door.When you move the door, the opening moves right along with it. As a bonus, you can view this in a 3Dview or schedule it.
 
The Interface
Besides the basic difference between objects and linework, there are differences in the Interfacebetween AutoCAD and ACA/ADT.First, there are some additional pull-down menus and toolbars.
 
 
Reuse of any or all material contained within this document for commercial purposes,without the express written consent of AUGI, Inc. or its authorized agents is expresslyprohibited.
 © Copyright 2009 Autodesk User Group International, Inc. All rights reserved.
 
3
From the Window pulldown menu, you have Pulldowns listed. This flies out to include an optionalDesign, Document, and CAD Manager pulldown menu just to name a few. The Design and Documentpulldown menus are available in addition to the Tool Palettes. The CAD Manager pull-down is useful toaccess keynote editing and other features that are not found elsewhere.There is a Navigation Toolbar that provides you with access to some of ACA/ADT’s Tools such as theContent Browser, Project Browser, Project Navigator, Detail Component Manager and the AutoCADtools of Tool Palettes and Design Center.
 
The Standard Toolbar where you typically find New, Open, Save, Plot contains two additional toolbuttons. One is for Object Inspect and the more important one at the very end is to Regenerate Model.(It reminds me of a factory with two gold-colored wheels in front of it.)If you come from a long history with AutoCAD, you may remember the command REGEN that we hadto type to regenerate the drawing. This works a little differently as it is regenerating objects in yourmodel. If you make some changes that you don’t seem to see, use this button and see if it appears.
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