Autocad 2011 – Where do I start?

I recently taught myself to use Autocad and here is what helped me. Start here, http://www.cadtutor.net/tutorials/ .  The tutorials are a basic overview of the program and will help you get familiar with the program.  They also have a message board if you have any questions.  There are also many other CAD sites on the internet.  Some that helped me are: http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/AutoCAD_tips.html , http://www.autocadcentral.com/Tutorials/tutorials_index.htm, 

In my opinion, the best tutorial you can buy are the videos from Lynda.com.  You can even pay a monthly membership to view tutorials for many different kinds of software.  I used them and they were the most helpful by far.  I have a book called the Autocad Bible and it was good but not nearly as helpful as the videos from Lynda.com.

Google is also going to be your best friend.  If you have an issue, just type it in as a questions into Google and you’ll likely find an answer.

I know exactly why you feel overwhelmed because I felt the same way when I started  but I think that Autocad is really pretty easy if you use the resources that are out there.

You can also access, download and use all the Lynda programs for Autocad without paying for them.

Yes, this is a torrent site, so you know exactly what your doing, at least I did. But I downloaded every AutoCAD tutorial program from Lynda and VTC, and at no cost.

You need a torrent downloader program like BitTorrent or BitComet.

With this site, depending if it i open to new accounts, you may be able to register and gain access. If you do, type in a search for Lynda and AutoCAD and off you go. These are large files and will take hours to download. But they even come with the program files.

http://www.demonoid.com/

If this does not work, try this site.

http://www.picktorrent.com/ 

Pick Torrent is wide open and just do the same kind of search.

Hope this helps. It has helped me immensely

The difference is that if you go to ASLA Joblink right now and look at the first 20 jobs, 16 of them have “autocad” in them. Two of the four that don’t are for academic positions. One is for plant procurement and the last is for construction oversight. None mention “ArchiCAD”.

close all the tabs, toolbars, windows and buttons that the default 2011 interface throws at you. All you need is the command line and model/paper space tabs.

Cad is actually pretty intuitive when you forget about all the junk toolbars and use the command line. If you want to make a line, type “L” for line..Polyline..”PL”..trim, offset, arc, circle, etc…Learn the command keys and you’ll be all set.