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AutoCAD 2004 for Dummies Review by M. Johnson
This is a great 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.