AutoCAD Books

But be aware it is for you only if you are an Arcitecht... if you use autocad for other reasons I think you should consider another one..

For many years I have wanted to learn AutoCAD, but the complexity of earlier programs, and the instructional materials available made the task far too time consuming and difficult. In this book, David Frey presents a simple project which by continuing development of it cover to cover, takes an individual from the basic functions of AutoCAD R14 through 3 dimensional modeling.

Starting with a personal CAD knowledge base of zero, following Frey's lessons, I was able after about 8 hours with the book to create from scratch a basic architectural floorplan. Within four weeks, I had completed this book and was able to produce full, architectural quality construction drawings. Individual ability to create such sets will depend upon prior architectural training. But, one will most certainly be able to create simple plans, and make modifications to much more complex ones. As way of comparison, the easy to read and understand material presented here amounted to what is taught in a much more intense three month college introductory level CAD course. I give this book an A+.

A word of note. This book is written for those who are needing to aquire AutoCAD skills for architectural design, construction, or structure documentation purposes. In this respect, Frey delivers. It is not a book for mechanical engineering, or civil engineering CAD skills.

In conclusion, this work quickly provided me a comprehensive set of skills needed to assume a leadership role in historic preservation project management, cutting many months off what is normally a steep learning curve. I recommend it to anyone who needs to learn how to create or modify architectural drawings, without reserve.

Following this book, I recommend George Omura's "Mastering AutoCAD Release 14". Purchase these two together, and one will have a high quality architectural CAD training package and reference source.

As a person who has never done any computer aided drawing before, this book was excellent. I have beed trying for many years to get involved with Autocad but would somehow get very frustrated and chuck it in after a number of starts. This book took me through the paces via a project. I am now drawing the plans (or at least the first draft) for my home. As a 'hands-on' type person this book suited me just fine.

In January 2001, I got a job at an engineering firm to train as an autocad operator. I had absolutely no knowledge of Autocad. I came to this site to see if I could give myself a head start and in less than 40 hours I knew all the basics (and some shortcuts) that I needed to know for my new job. Long story short I got a $5,000.00 raise in three months and now I am training others in my firm on autocad14. To keep a step ahead I'm now reading the AutoCad 2000 by Frey. This book was easy to follow and Frey did a Great Job with explanations of terms and all the questions that I had were answered right there in the book. I'd recommend this book to everyone interested in learning AutoCad. It's a no brainer here.

This is great for those who have never ventured into AutoCAD and need to start learning. I bought the book because I was starting an internship at an architecture firm and needed to get basics down so that I would be of more use. I have begun working through the tutorial and have picked up enough so that I am pretty comfortable using the application. The project managers in the office were so impressed with the book, and the results they see in me, they're planning on buying it for themselves!

This book thoroughly discuss the steps in using auto cad 2D and an opener in 3D autocad drafting. It uses a simple terms that anybody even not engineers can understand. Must buy for a beginner to intermediate autocad users.

The delivery from amazon really surprised me as the book arrives ahead of thier given arrival time. It arrives in two days only, supposedly shall arrive after 3-5 days. another 5 star rating for amazon's delivery system!

Easy to follow, Lots of excercises to practice with and explanation when you screw things up (beyond repair, sometimes.
A must read if you want to go to "AutoCAD University"?

AUTOCAD 2006 AND AUTOCAD LT 2006: NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED is a fine, basic introduction to a powerful program which once commanded the attention only of professionals. Any seeking to utilize the CAD software should have this manual in hand: it provides a set of tutorials which are sequentially arranged for step-by-step study - but it also can be used as an at-a-glance reference sourcebook for solving specific problems. From understanding coordinate systems and drawing routines to working with fills, text, external references and more, AutoCAD's powerful tools and drawing features are all detailed in depth.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I work for a survey company. I have never been to college and I am a self-taught AutoCAD user. I learned AutoCAD '02 with this book. Now I train guys and we buy this book for guys that have backgrounds with Microstation and are transitioning to AutoCAD.

Fantastic book for the experienced or the beginner. Easy to understand. Highly recommmend for those just starting out.

I have only recently delved into the further workings of AutoCAD 2000 and thought I'd try my hand at VBA Programming. So I bought this book. As an beginner to programming in general (though not to VB6) I thought the book would be a little above my experience.......WRONG!! This book is an excellent publication for beginner to intermediate users. If, as a VBA programmer, you can't find anything useful in this book then maybe you need to consider your career..........Absolutely outstanding

Great book for beginners and intermediate programmers. Want to learn VBA in AutoCAD? This is the book to get. It contains tons of sample code and a full object reference in the appendix.

This is one of the best book I have bought. Within a month's time I was on my own with VBA. Code examples and explanation presented in this book can be digested very rapidly. Of course, it is not dealing with forms at all. But still it is excellent piece of work. Simply click "Add to shopping cart" without loss of any time.

Joe Sutphin covers the broad spectrum of AutoCAD VBA pretty effectively. My number one reference source for programming in ACAD. Much like a dictionary or thesaurus for VBA in ACAD.

That is what I was looking for. It is great for beginners and professionals. You can find many examples and quickly use it in your needs.

Excellent book: clear, succint and detailed in explanations of AutoCAD design. I tried other books before, but this one really motivates you to keep going and review all the tricky parts of this program.
The following is not a critique of the book but rather my wishes on my engineering field: I would have liked to have several examples of electrical design applications in the book.
Anyway, thanks for your book.
Joseph

I recommend this to anyone who is interested in learing the basics of autocad. After using the book, I can now create professional floor plans for the apartments that I own and manage

Follow the instructions and you will be able to navigate through Auto Cad in no time at all. Easy to understand,well written and illustrated for the first time Cad user. Excellent reference manual.

Great, easy learning tool!
Highy recommended as navigational reference of "how to" design.

As the title says, No Experience Required. I tried several AutoCAD books including the"Dummies" series and it seems they all assume that the reader has some basic knowledge of AutoCAD. Frey assumes nothing and teaches by example, which to me is the best way to learn. Start with this book, learn a chapter a day, and in a couple of weeks you'll have a good working knowledge of AutoCAD. Then you can pick up some of the other books and go from there.

This is the third version of this book I've gotten and none have ever let me down!

I'm an experienced CAD user and use it Often. It is a great reference bood I keep close for immediate use. It is easily to follow and look up many different subjects. I am also using too train a new CAD employee. Work great for both.!!

I've been using the 2002 edition and found it really helpful so I bought the 2008 edition. Again a great book; however, the text size is smaller and the ink color is almost the same color as the page which makes it difficult to do any long-term reading. The 2002 edition's text size was slightly larger and the color, text more crisp. It was much easier reading. Both editions are still great books.

My professional occupation have been in construction as a bricklayer, but now I need to re-educate me on the cause of health. Aiming to be an cad-operater I want to learn Autocad as well as possible. I enrolled in school, but found the books there a little short on the subject. So I got this book from Amazon in hope of pick up a little faster, and I sure did.
This book has all you need to know about Autocad, with the latest tools laid out in nice detail. I recomend it from my whole heart.

Amazon wrote me an email to review this book. I immediately responded by saying that their are many books out there on the subject. I am a working professional that has to get results rather quickly. Since I am not able to go to AutoCad training at the moment, I thought I would give this book a try. I am very impressed to say the least. In order to get the "most" out of this book and to learn AutoCad easily, you really need to start at the beginning and NOT miss a step along the way. For some, including me, it is so easy to jump right to the middle or back, but in the long run, you will short change yourself. Do you yourself a favor, get the book and follow it from the beginning. There is some repeating of material, but I think it was done for a reason. Don't worry, the book gets you off immediately drawing some things, then the author backs up some and starts to explain what you just did. I am using this book daily even while I write this. Hey, as a matter of fact, I even wrote the author Ellen Finklestien and she wrote me back about a question I had ! Avoid the tempation to even skip a page, because the author packs alot of info in there !

Donnie D.

I've been using AutoCAD for many years and have seen many books rehash the same old stuff.
This book addresses Autocad from a user standpoint, written by someone who not only completely understands AutoCAD but also knows how it's used in the real world.
A "must-have" for all AutoCAD users.

This is the first CAD book that I have bought in years (using AutoCAD since release 2.5), this book is a must have for anyone using AutoCAD. This is not a command reference guide, it truly shows you how to use the software through best practices, customization, automation and programming. It is a comprehensive book filled with tips, tricks, pitfalls, and examples. Mr. Abbott has brought together enough productivity tips for the user that the book will pay for itself through increased productivity.

AutoCAD Secrets every User should know is a fantastic Book.It helps me in my CAD Life.My favorite Chapters are Why Dos isnt dead yet and Chapter 7 AutoCAD Scripts.The Book has improved my productivity, and has enlarged my time off,making my Job easier.AutoCAD Secrets is written in a nice and understandable way.I hope that Dan Abbott writes another Book soon.

Thank You

Jose De Jesus

The index is a great resource for those in the world who were thrown into CAD with no formal training, like myself. To have this reference handy next to our company CAD station has been a budget saver, eliminating the fumbling and guessing that historically took place for our projects. Not only that, but the primary proofreader of the book, Paul, is a fantastic resource for nit-picky questions that I inevitably run across in my projects.

Thanks Dan.

I've been a user of AutoCAD since release 10 (1991), at one time I used to purchase 2 to 4 reference books per AutoCAD release. I have not purchased a book on AutoCAD since AutoCAD 2000. Until now. Mr. Abbott's book is by far the best AutoCAD Productivity book on the market! If you have had formal or informal training for AutoCAD, or are a seasoned user of AutoCAD, get this book! Although Mr. Abbott packs this book full of real-world tips and tricks and enough examples to give one a good jump-start with customizing AutoCAD, my enthusiasm for this book is based on the fact that Mr. Abbott explains how and why AutoCAD works without being geeky. "AutoCAD: Secrets Every User Should Know", is a well written reference and tutorial book which will not become obsolete with the next release of AutoCAD.

I have hundreds of books and manuals on various techie subjects and Ellen's AutoCAD 2004 Bible ranks high on my list for books worth the purchase. I have used AutoCAD for years but after moving up to Acad 2005 from Acad 2000 I thought I could use some tutoring. The book didn't disappoint. For nearly every topic there is a step by step, hands-on, example that the reader can perform. There are around 160 drawing files on the accompanying CD; one for each example in the book. You can open that file in Acad and follow the steps in the book and experiment to your heart's content.

All in all, this book won't disappont you like some I could mention.

I have had R14, 2000 AutoCAD Bibles on my shelf for many years now. I picked the 2004 Bible to use as a textbook in an advanced AutoCAD class that I teach 6 or so times a year.

I was very pleased with how well it meshed with the way I have always taught this class (13 years last month.) Plus it is a nice "value added" item that the students can take back to work. My first class was very pleased about getting to use the 2004 Bible while in class and also about having a reference to study after the class.

It was funny because I started saying "take your Bibles and turn to page ..." it was like we were in church! I can not say enough good about Ellen's writing style, her use of graphics throughout the book and her expertise! It is all there in the Bible.

I bought this to get refreshed in Autocad for a new job and would recommend it to anyone. I can't do without it.

A marvellous and first class, well written and referenced, extremely clear and as if having an AutoCAD instructer sitting next to you. I was a new user to this product and I feel today very comfortable to do my tasks on AutoCAD and feel that this book will be a good guide even for advanced users. Thanks to Ellen Finklestien and I laud your efforts and higly recomment the book to all.

I have read various book of autocad, but they all seem very complicated and dificuolt to understand. I found this bible and let me tell you that is the best book I have ever seem. I recomended to a friend of mine who wants to learn autocad. This book will challenge you as a beguiner, intermedite or advance user. It has lots of examples and this author know what she is talking about. Believe me this one of the best if not the best autocad book I have seem in the market in my 10 years of autocard experience.

So far so good. Realy well laid out. Just starting to explore it

I purchased this book to learn the basics of autocad map... a very similar program. The book is very easy to follow and detailed. Sykes does a great job of explaining all the autocad jargon and the step-by-step projects are perfect for becoming familiar with autocad tools. I haven't made it through the entire book yet, but I selectively read the chapters I needed to get me going within about 8hrs. Not too bad. Be sure to get the CD with the book as well as the reference card. I wished there would have been more info on how to layout the drawing for print and how to insert legends, scale, etc. but I suppose that is what the advanced book is for.
Overall, a very user friendly book if you want to become familiar with a not-so user friendly program. I look forward to purchasing the advanced book.

Pura vida.

For a student this book is the best. The step by step approach is excellent. I like the graphics and the pictures of what the screen looks like when I do the commands. Easy to follow and Sykes takes a difficult lesson and make it easy to understand.

This book is excellent! The step by step procedure, clear detailed graphics and the multimedia CD are all linked to each other which allow reader of any level to understand AutoCAD without any difficulty.

This is truly a step by step approach. It starts with the fundamentals. The progression from basics to advanced is very orderly. I have used this book to learn AutoCAD 2000 and now I highly recommend it as a text or a reference. I reach for this book when I need information or help with a command or sequence of commands that I have forgotten. The examples and exercises develop real understanding.

Have you ever taken notes in class, which made perfect sense in the classroom setting watching the teacher demostrate a command, only to get home and try to recreate the steps to no avail?
This book is so helpful in that the commands are so clearly laid out in a visual, easy to understand manner. Since graduating from school, I have continued to pick this book up as a helpful resource to refresh my cad skills on numerous occasions. The answers have been there ever time.

Whether you're still in school or out in the work force, this book is a must-have resource for designers who may need a refresher course in CAD from time to time. The easy-to-read graphics, thorough index and step-by-step instructions allow both experienced users and/or newcomers to navigate successfully through the CAD program.

Great Book !!...no nonsense, step by step guide that uses conventional drafting methods and reference diagrams to explain what you NEED to know with out all of the ultra technical junk found in most CAD text. It provides the reader with the information needed to work in a REAL office in the REAL world.

AutoCAD is clearly the industry standard computer aided design software. If you type AutoCad into the search engine at Amazon you get 4,306 books about it. How do you possibly pick one out of this many. Or perhaps a better question is why pick this one.

First, this book is specifically oriented to architects and interior designers. That's what the examples show, that's the terminology used. You are not looking at gears or airplane wings.

Second, this book is aimed at the beginner. It starts with comparing AutoCad to conventional paper and T-Square drafting. It compares AutoCAD commands to common drafting implements like a pencil or compass.

Third, it is rather independent of the AutoCAD version. The concepts being taught here are the basic ones, so you can use the book with whatever version you have.

Fourth, it is a very visually oriented book. It has you quickly working on drawings, showing you in illustrations what you should be seeing on the screen.

Fifth, as a basis for starting your drawings the companion web site for the book has perhaps as much information as is contained in the book.

Conclusion. This is an excellent book to use to get started with AutoCAD, especially for architects and interior designers.

Clear illustrations and easy to follow step-by-step instructions make it easy to master AutoCAD commands with this book. Often, a single page covers an entire command (in words and illustrations) which makes it easy to learn the first time or refresh my memory.

I'm glad I found an AutoCAD book that does not require me to be a programmer to learn this software. I'll keep this one next to my computer for quick reference.

I used this book to teach myself AutoCad in two weeks and got a job as an engineer. (Yes, I still have the position!)
The book is clear and concise in it's instructions. The index works exactly as an index should work allowing you to quickly find solutions to perplexing problems. It covers the ACAD program from beginning (Look! I drew a box!) to end (3-D modeling).
There's more info than you can possibly remember so buy a copy and guard it jealously. Users of any level will walk away enlightened.

As a student landscape and gardenarchitecture (last year), i found myself lacking the courage and will to learn autocad as they taught us at school.
I actually got very bad grades untill i decided to make an effort and buy some kind of book that could teach me.

After giving it some thought i decided to buy this book written by Omura and boy! i am i glad i did.
My grades went up a whole bunch and suddenly i understood what the teacher was explaining. Students around me started to come to me to get answers on things they didn't understand about the program.
So in short, what makes this a good book?
It starts from zero, absolutely from the beginning, working itself up to the point where you enter a more advanced level.
each step is fully explained, instead of telling what to do, George Omura tells you WHY you need to do what you do.

The best about the book is that in the back of the book, there is a list with keywords, enabling you to fastacces things you are stuck with or don't understand as you use the program.

So this book isn't only handy to learn autocad, it's also good for a fast look-up on something you need to know.

I did at a certain point hunger for more knowledge on the more advanced 3D operations. George Omura does a good job explaining the fundaments, but i wish he would've gone more deeper into it sometimes. Sometimes the explanation felt lacking more information.

But overall, i class this a 5 star book!

I love Omura's books about AutoCAD.I have all the versions from AutoCAD13 to AutoCAD2004, it is wonderful, easy to read to Understood to deal with, since I am an architeact& a lecturer in University, I this book very helpful in my work& teching.
Thank you
Arqem

Page 963 alone is worth the price of the book if you are an advanced user. I learned how to set up all my blocks into a custom tool palette. Tool palettes are a new feature in 2004.
I started at chapter one, and learned about features I have overlooked although I've been using AutoCAD since version 10.
I can't praise Mr Omura enough, he even gives his e:mail address and invites suggestions for improvements. There isn't a better book on the market for new users of AutoCAD, or experienced users either. The writing style and exercises are so easy to follow.

I've been an Autocad user for 9 years going back to version 12. I've used every version since. Let me state right off the bat, whether you're a beginner or a very experienced cad user, BUY THIS BOOK. This book will give you a solid foundation for every area of Autocad. The book is structured from beginner to expert and includes 4 appendixes.

For the beginner (I read the beginner chaps just for fun and to see what's new in 2004) excellent walk-thru exercises with great pictures and easy to understand instructions should have you drawing in no time as well as building your confidence with each chapter.

For the more experienced user who wants to delve in to the 3d features and customization capabilities of Autocad (ex. database integration, VBA, Lisp, Web dev, sys vars, etc.), excellent coverage including walk-thru's of these areas will provide you with the solid foundation to do whatever you want. I was particularly impressed with the coverage of the 3d environment as Omura devotes 4 chapters to this topic with each one being a must read.

The inclusion of good screen shots throughout the book allows you to read and understand while away from the computer.

Very satisfied with the purchase of this book!!