AutoCAD 2004 For Dummies [Paperback]

Okay, so it's more than a little vain for me to rate my own book, but I'd like to correct some misstatements by a previous reviewer and provide some accurate information on what the book does - and doesn't - cover.

At the risk of sounding defensive, I have to say that "A reader from Somerville, MA USA" doesn't accurately represent the book - or AutoCAD. There never was an AutoCAD R3.3. Perhaps this reader means Architectural Desktop 3.3, which was built on AutoCAD 2002.

AutoCAD 2004 doesn't offer new ways to xref. As Chapter 1 of the book describes, AutoCAD 2004 does provide some welcome improvements for working with xrefs, including "a simple method of opening xrefs for editing, more sensible xref search paths, xref change notifications, and a Reference Manager utility." The book addresses all of these changes in Chapters 13 and 15.

AutoCAD 2004's plotting system is in almost all respects identical to the one that Autodesk introduced in AutoCAD 2000 - in other words, plotting didn't change substantially in AutoCAD 2000i, 2002, or 2004. Nonetheless, Chapter 12 of the book does discuss the new shaded viewport plotting options and the incompatibility of AutoCAD 2004's new True Color capability with traditional color-dependent plot styles (CTB files).

So this reader is mistaken about what has changed in AutoCAD 2004 and whether what *has* changed is covered in AutoCAD 2004 For Dummies. Those who want to see what I regard as the most important new features in AutoCAD 2004 and where they're covered in the book can see for themselves on pages 15 and 16 of the "Look Inside" sample pages available from this Web page.

I will agree that this book is not for someone who is well-versed in a recent version of AutoCAD, although I think that the book will help people who are upgrading from old versions (e.g., AutoCAD R14) or whose skills have grown a little rusty. The coverage of new and advanced features is in most cases brief because this is a concise book for beginners rather than a 1200-page tome that attempts to cover everything.

The most important changes in this edition of AutoCAD For Dummies are:

- Coverage of the interface and command changes in AutoCAD 2004, including the new tool palettes, xref improvements, and mText tabs and indents.

- A new "Introduction to 3D" chapter that describes the concepts and commands required in order to get started creating 3D models in AutoCAD. (This one-chapter introduction doesn't pretend to make you an expert in 3D modeling - full treatment of the subject requires a separate book.)

- A new "CAD Standards Rule" chapter that introduces readers to the "why, what, and which" of CAD standards and then discusses the CAD standards checking and enforcement tools in AutoCAD 2004.

- A significantly updated "Drawing on the Internet" chapter that covers the new Reference Manager, PUBLISH, and drawing protection features.

As with the previous edition, this book is for users of AutoCAD 2004 *and* AutoCAD LT 2004. I'm not writing a separate LT book this time around. Instead, I've noted the differences between AutoCAD 2004 and AutoCAD LT 2004, which are few for the purposes of a book of this type.

And as with all of the previous editions, AutoCAD 2004 For Dummies is not just about how to run commands. Throughout the book, I emphasize real, practical techniques for creating technical drawings with AutoCAD. In my view, that's the real strength of the book.

AutoCAD is one of the most complex and powerful programs I have ever seen. It's necessary to understand some potentially intimidating concepts, like paper space, xrefs and plotting procedures. After reading previous reviews of this book, I suspect the reviewers may have been disillusioned when they didn't understand everything about the program after reading part of the book.

I know a good deal about this program and I was glad to get a list and read some commentary about what was new and what was unchanged from the last release. For an experienced user, keeping up with the changes is what it's all about.

Middlebrook is clearly very knowledgeable, but remembers what it's like to be a beginner and is able to write from the point of view of someone who is poking the buttons in this program for the first time. There are often several ways to do things with AutoCAD and it was great to see tips about the easiest way for a novice to do them. In addition to the "how to" there is commentary which illuminates the "why" behind the commands, techniques and concepts. You can't get that from the online help. As someone who has tried to explain this program to people myself, I think this is exactly what's needed.

He also writes from a non-AutoDesk point of view. I got the feeling that I was getting good information rather than the company line as well as some tips that I wouldn't expect to find in the program manuals and online help, like how to save a file so that other people who are using AutoCAD R14 can use it.

It's very readable, which is a rare thing considering the technical subject. There is a sense of humor and it is a pleasure to read.

The bottom line is that it's a great way to get up to speed with the changes if you already have experience with AutoCAD, and if I were learning this program for the first time I would definitely want to have this book in order to make sense out of the program.

In my pursuit to learn AutoCAD as quickly as I can, I have purchased the three main tutorial books for AutoCAD 2004.

While AutoCAD 2004 for Dummies by Mark Middlebrook is the most basic of the three (Duh... it's for dummies) it still covers much of the important material in a manner that a complete newbie could probably understand a specific instruction or chapter.

The way Mr. Middlebrook approaches AutoCAD though is pretty tough to comprehend. That is, he spends the entire book discussing various commands and how to approach a drawing, but never walks you through a project.

I found David Frey's book AutoCAD 2004 and AutoCAD LT 2004 a much better instructional book and while only slightly more techie he manages to walk you through a project that lets you truly understand what he's trying to teach you.

My biggest gripe with AutoCAD 2004 for Dummies is the incredible amount of typos! Gawd! I am a high school teacher and this guy would fail an essay that I assign at the high school level. What in the world is he doing writing a book if he can't spell or proofread? Either he or his editor should go back to English class. I see that Mr. Middlebrook himself has weighed in on this. Just so he knows, I'm looking at the fourth printing (I think... The information page says 10 9 8 7 6 5 4. Does that mean it's on the third or fourth printing? I'm not a librarian!) I only mention this because he says he's only found 5 mistakes. I've found at least a dozen pretty obvious ones, and a many, many minor ones.

The single most grievous mistake is on pages 100 and 101, Chapter 5, table 5-1. It is supposed to be a table of various tools you can use to draw objects. Other than the first one, each icon is incorrectly matched with a description! For example, he shows the "copy" tool icon, but then calls it a SPLine and gives the description for a SPLine. I count eight errors in that table alone. If you are truly a newbie to AutoCAD then you might never get it sorted out. This mistake alone merits not purchasing the book or asking of your money back because it's an example of how a "typo" can be critically damaging. No, I am not an English teacher, nor am I overly zealotous toward proofreading. However, I do have only a certain tolerance for typos and when they interfere with my learning the subject, then its time to move on to another resource.

While I have learned things from this book, it is clearly the least useful of the three I have bought. The two Sybex books by Frey and Omura have much more thought and effort put into them and are extremely comprehensive. I'd pick the Frey book first though.

I do not doubt for a second Mr. Middlebrook's knowledge or experience with AutoCAD. He clearly knows his stuff. I just wish he, and his editor, would learn to proofread. That, or hire me to proofread for you! I'm as literate as your editor, computer savvy, and experienced. Look me up.

The Dummies series could really learn from the mistakes made here. I'm done with the Dummies series. There are much better resources out there, at least on the topics that I'm interested in. They've lost my purchases. Good luck though!