I've been using AutoCAD in one configuration or another for the last 15 years or so.  I agree wholeheartedly that it's a bitch coming out of the gate, but once you're rolling you wonder how you ever got along without it.  Learning the keystroke shortcuts is paramount (IMHO) to getting efficient with it... having come through the pre-DOS days into the current point & click universe had to help a lot with that aspect of it for me.  I don't remember the name of the book or author that helped me climb the ladder to Acad 6 or 7, but it utilized a specific project to step you through the learning curve by starting out with fundamentals and working up to the completed drawing.  I have to believe that there are still self-help books out there that take a similar approach and are worth their weight in gold.  Good luck with it.

 <marv>


<canarder@frontiernet.net> wrote:

 Sounds intimidating.  I'm not trying to design an automatic transmission or
anything.  Just some of the bulkheads, small parts and hardware, and my wiring
diagrams.  Mostly I think it's something like welding.  You want to do one
little thing, but as you acquire the skill, you find hundreds of things to do
with it.  I'll try and find the book and see where it leads me.
 Thanks ... Jim S.
 kevin lane wrote:

I will add that I am currently in my third qtr of community college taking AutoDesk, after 2 qtrs of AutoCAD.  These are not trivial programs, and not designed for quick and easy solutions.  Dimensioning, for example, has some 70 variables that control sizing, scales, text placement, height, style, etc....  I have a complete copy of AutoDesk which will run for 180 days and cost $33 and was included with a textbook.  Installation ran 1 hr. with 2 auto reboots!

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