# I have AutoCAD! Or, I'm a student again. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392 "2008-02-20T17:37:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/1 "2008-02-20T17:37:15Z")
Yep, I just got the Student Edition. I’m taking my first AutoCAD course from [George Brown College](http://www.georgebrown.ca/). It’s distance education; so I don’t have to do the epic trek from my work in the far west to the east side of downtown on a weeknight. As course materials, I got two DVDs containing videos and other materials. And I have email access to the instructor. This first course looks like it’s going to be fairly easy. There are three more for the basic certificate. They’re ‘continuous intake’, menaing you start when you want and finish as fast as you want. (You have to finish within 120 days of starting, though.) When I installed Windows on my Macbook Pro in January, it was for connecting to work. This came later. It’s a happy coincidence that the video card in my computer is specifically listed on AutoCAD’s site as being supported for 3D graphics; I hadn’t planned this explicitly, even though I was aware of the possibility. I’m going to replace the hard drive with a bigger one, though; 120 gigs is too small now. More things to help in designing houses. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/2 "2008-02-20T19:17:52Z")
Cool! Now you can draw me an underground house. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/3 "2008-02-20T19:19:45Z")
I have limited experience with AutoCAD, although I’ve used Inventor extensively. AutoDesk makes a good product. Have fun with it! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/4 "2008-02-20T19:32:14Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] Cool! Now you can draw me an underground house. [/QUOTE] I’ve always been able to do that. Now, if you want me to _neatly_ draw you an underground house… ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/5 "2008-02-20T19:38:50Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] I’ve always been able to do that. Now, if you want me to _neatly_ draw you an underground house… [/QUOTE] I won’t insist on neatness, then 😉 . I’m still using AutoCAD 2005 - did y’all get the 2008? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/6 "2008-02-20T19:53:56Z")
2008, yes. The course materials were recently revised for it. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/7 "2008-02-20T21:06:49Z")
Cool! It’s been years since I used AutoCad on a regular basis, but ain’t designing just the bee’s knees? 🙂 I’m a mechanical designer, and we use software called Pro/Engineer. We make 3d models of subsea oil and gas production equipment. I love my job! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/8 "2008-02-20T21:34:14Z")
And in my work, I use ProductView to look at Pro/E models and pull line drawings out for documentation. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/9 "2008-02-21T00:44:32Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] When I installed Windows on my Macbook Pro in January, it was for connecting to work. This came later. It’s a happy coincidence that the video card in my computer is specifically listed on AutoCAD’s site as being supported for 3D graphics; I hadn’t planned this explicitly, even though I was aware of the possibility. [/quote] Cool. Are you dual-booting into windows to run AutoCAD, or are you running a virtual PC? Hows the performance? Our office has been considering the purchase of a new laptop to replace the ageing boat anchor we currently have and the possibility of getting a Macbook has come up. I’d love to fool around with one, but it’s absolutely critical that the new machine can run ACAD smoothly. > [@](#): > > I’m going to replace the hard drive with a bigger one, though; 120 gigs is too small now. Also consider more RAM. ACAD is an absolute memory hog, so get at least 2 gig if you can manage it. I’ve been using ACAD almost daily for several years now (structural and architectural drafting) and I’m still learning new things. The depth and power of the program is amazing. With our recent upgrade to 2008, I’ve been having a blast creating dynamic blocks. If you’re planning to get into house design, consider looking into Architectural Desktop which is ACAD with a large number of design tools added-on. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/10 "2008-02-21T02:49:57Z")
[QUOTE=Hodge] Cool. Are you dual-booting into windows to run AutoCAD, or are you running a virtual PC? Hows the performance? [/quote] Both. I have a Boot Camp partition with Windows installed on it. I can boot into that natively by choosing it at startup, or I can boot into Mac OS X and run it in a virtual machine under Fusion. So far, it’s taking forever to install. I’m going outside to look at the moon. > [@Hodge](#): > > Our office has been considering the purchase of a new laptop to replace the ageing boat anchor we currently have and the possibility of getting a Macbook has come up. I’d love to fool around with one, but it’s absolutely critical that the new machine can run ACAD smoothly. Get a MacBook Pro. It has a separate video card. My machine has a Radeon X1600 which is specifically supported by AutoCAD. It just finished installing. Man, does that take a long time… since I was running Windows in a VM, it profiled the VM’s video card and went ‘eeeh… no 3D here…’ I’m sure it will be a lot happier running natively. > [@Hodge](#): > > Also consider more RAM. ACAD is an absolute memory hog, so get at least 2 gig if you can manage it. I have 2 gigs; I might max out the machine and get three. I definitely need more hard drive space. > [@Hodge](#): > > I’ve been using ACAD almost daily for several years now (structural and architectural drafting) and I’m still learning new things. The depth and power of the program is amazing. With our recent upgrade to 2008, I’ve been having a blast creating dynamic blocks. If you’re planning to get into house design, consider looking into Architectural Desktop which is ACAD with a large number of design tools added-on. I’ve got that as part of the student package. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/11 "2008-02-21T03:58:29Z")
**Dolores** , I’d love to see a screen shot of your work. [Here’s](http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/NinetyWt/KFarmsFloodplain-Model.jpg)a recent flood map I did. Mesmerizing, I know !! Sunspace, didja notice you got three "cool"s? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/12 "2008-02-21T04:26:35Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] **Dolores** , I’d love to see a screen shot of your work. [Here’s](http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/NinetyWt/KFarmsFloodplain-Model.jpg)a recent flood map I did. Mesmerizing, I know !! Sunspace, didja notice you got three "cool"s? 😃 [/QUOTE] Cool! 🙂 I’m now posting from Windows. AutoCAD seems a lot happier in Windows running natively. For a workstation, **Hodge** , I’d recommend a Mac Pro if you were going to get a Mac. I’m not certtain that that would be the best, though. More exploration is needed. Just in the beginning of the first beginner lesson, I was watching the video as the instructor showed examples of the different ways to get a circle, for example, and I was going, “I’ve been trying to do that in Illustrator for years!” ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/13 "2008-02-21T04:42:16Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] examples of the different ways to get a circle, for example, [/QUOTE] One of the unsung virtues of AutoCAD is that there are several ways to accomplish things. I’ve heard that it’s built that way so that there is no “one” way to do things - what’s intuitive for me may not be intuitive for you - end result is, everyone is more productive. Did that make sense? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/14 "2008-02-21T05:00:41Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] One of the unsung virtues of AutoCAD is that there are several ways to accomplish things. I’ve heard that it’s built that way so that there is no “one” way to do things - what’s intuitive for me may not be intuitive for you - end result is, everyone is more productive. Did that make sense? [/QUOTE] Perfect sense. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/15 "2008-02-21T15:38:19Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] **Dolores** , I’d love to see a screen shot of your work. [Here’s](http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/NinetyWt/KFarmsFloodplain-Model.jpg)a recent flood map I did. Mesmerizing, I know !! Sunspace, didja notice you got three "cool"s? 😃 [/QUOTE] [Here’s](http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/rmix/?action=view¤t=copy_iso2.jpg) a jpg of one of my assemblies. The map is awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/16 "2008-02-21T19:01:18Z")
**Sunspace** , are you doing this just for fun, or is it a new career direction for you? ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/17 "2008-02-21T20:45:45Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] One of the unsung virtues of AutoCAD is that there are several ways to accomplish things. I’ve heard that it’s built that way so that there is no “one” way to do things - what’s intuitive for me may not be intuitive for you - end result is, everyone is more productive. [/QUOTE] Unfortunately, it can also lead to a lot of confusion for beginners. I definitely recommend learning learning the keyboard shortcuts for as many commands as possible. It will greatly increase your productivity when you’re not always searching for buttons or dropdown menu commands [QUOTE=Dolores Reborn] [Here’s](http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/rmix/?action=view¤t=copy_iso2.jpg) a jpg of one of my assemblies. The map is awesome! [/QUOTE] That assembly is awesome. Completely alien landscape to me. [Here’s a plaza](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3175/2282519752_14612e9b18_o.jpg) we designed a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/18 "2008-02-21T22:22:24Z")
[QUOTE=Hodge] I definitely recommend learning learning the keyboard shortcuts for as many commands as possible. It will greatly increase your productivity when you’re not always searching for buttons or dropdown menu commands [/QUOTE] The best advice I ever got on AutoCAD was “Use the mouse as little as possible”. Once you really begin to get into using the keyboard you’ll be shocked at how much more productive you can be. Of course it’s been 8 years since I’ve even touched AutoCAD so YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/19 "2008-02-21T22:45:19Z")
I’m taking a Design Graphics course for my B.Eng., and we are using AutoCAD. We aren’t getting much “how to use it” teaching, other than the very basics, but I am very much enjoying it. The work you guys have posted is really cool. I’m going to have to use it to design a staircase for an “Art Museum” of undetermined description. I’m thinking I’ll go with simple and functional, and incorporate rise and run recommended for elderly/disabled people, and child hand rails, etc. Go for a safety-first/max usability approach, because really, the only people who go to museums are kids on school trips and retirees (only somewhat kidding!) AutoDesk provided us with a 14-month free use of Civil-3D Land Desktop Companion, though we are really only using the basic Classic AutoCAD functions, since that’s what the computers at school have. They are all the 2008 versions, too. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392/20 "2008-02-21T23:15:08Z")
Ahhhh **Dolores** that is a metric a$$-ton of cool. **Hodge** your plaza looks very familiar ! I see a lot of that kind of stuff in the back of the plan sets, on the architectural sheets. I also vote for keyboard shortcuts. I actually learned them when we had AutoCAD 10 (hush!) and it’s second nature to me now. **mnemosyme** , I would love to play with Civil 3-D but, alas, I am too poor to purchase it. **Sunspace** , for your first SDMB homework you must reproduce these drawings by Monday. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-autocad-or-im-a-student-again/438392.md?page=2)