AutoCAD LT^® 2005 For Dummies^® (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Rating:
Summary: Very Helpful Book
Review: This book is different and better than a lot of other How-To-Do-AutoCAD books. Here is why I think so.

AutoCAD LT is perhaps second only to AutoCAD as the most complex and powerful programs I have ever seen. 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. For instance, this is the only place I have seen a concise list of steps for producing a plot.

Another thing I enjoyed about the book is the perspective. There is a great overview of CAD in general, a list of the differences between LT and AutoCAD, and some ideas on how LT users and AutoCAD users can work together which something every LT user will bump into. In the parts of the book that describe the nuts and bolts, you not only see how to do particular things with the program, you come away with a sense of why the program works the way it does.

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 or the online help.

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. I wouldn't want to try and learn or use this program without the manuals, but I wouldn't want to try it without this book either.