How to stay up to date with AutoCAD

I have a treat for you today. Todays post is guest written by Ellen Finkelstein. She is the author of several AutoCAD books, including the AutoCAD 2008 Bible. Her latest, the AutoCAD 2009 Bible will be available soon. She has also written several books on PowerPoint and other topics. Here are some links to Ellens website and blogs.

http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com
AutoCAD Tips Blog
PowerPoint Tips Blog

Thanks Ellen for sharing with us.

How to stay up to date with AutoCAD

AutoCAD is a complex program and its crucial for your work. Obviously, the better you know how to use the program, the quicker and more accurate your drawings will be. This is where the importance of education comes in.

Education has two parts:

• Learning more about the base AutoCAD features that you use, or could use.
• Keeping up with new releases as they come out

Some organizations upgrade only every few years. I sometimes get e-mails from people who are upgrading from R14 to R2008! But many upgrade every two or three years, which means that education is a regular feature of the job.

Autodesk has a subscription program in which you pay an annual fee and automatically get every new release. Additional benefits are "extensions" (new features released between major releases), e-learning tools, and Web-based support. While companies on the subscription program get each release as it comes out, they dont necessarily install and use it. But they generally upgrade more often than companies not on the subscription program. Even with the e-learning tools, retraining becomes a feature of life.

How can you learn as much as possible about AutoCAD and also keep up with new releases?

Basic learning resources

When you first learn AutoCAD, it may be from your dealer, from a book, or from on-the-job training. But its never enough. Why?

1. You forget a lot of what you learned, because you dont use it every day.
2. New tasks arise and you need to discover the best method of completing them.
3. Theres always pressure to be more competitive, which completing tasks more quickly. Therefore, you need to regularly incorporate new customization and automizing techniques.
4. Problems arise, whether due to the melding of drawings from many sources, network issues, having to incorporate multiple software applications, etc.

Here are some resources when you need to learn a new feature, answer a thorny question, or just find a better way:

1. Your peers: If others in your organization use AutoCAD, ask them first. They may have figured out what you need to know.
2. Books: Always have a good reference book on hand. The answer may be as simple as looking in the index or table of contents. (Shameless plug: Look on the right for links to my books.)
3. Discussion groups: The Autodesk AutoCAD discussion group is very active and will often give you an answer within an hour or two.
4. User groups: There are many AutoCAD user groups around the country and the world. Go to AUGI (Autodesk User Groups International) to search for the one nearest you. Their site is also a great source of support.
5. Courses: Many colleges, especially community colleges, offer courses in AutoCAD. The schedules are often geared around working people, so you can take them in the evenings or on weekends. Bonus: The teacher and other students can become a permanent networking resource. You can also purchase video courses.
6. Events: Autodesk University (annually) and CAD camps (several times a year) are great learning opportunities that offer classes specialized by discipline.
7. Newsletters: Several newsletters, including mine (AutoCAD Tips Newsletter), offer regular tips, techniques, and articles. Subscribe!
8. Web sites: There are loads of Web sites, too many to mention. Just start searching and youll find many. They have free code to download, free tips, and lots more.

Updating your skills

There are several things you can do to specifically help you with new releases. Most of these are time-dependent, matching the cycle of the new software:

1. Beta programs: You can apply to participate in the AutoCAD beta program, which evaluates the software before its finalized. You need to have some time to commit to this, as youre usefulness is related to the amount of testing you do and comments you submit. Youll learn the new features before they go to market, giving you a jump on the training process.
2. Upgrade training: Most dealers offer upgrade training for each release. Ask your dealer about it.
3. New feature articles: Just after a new release comes out, many sites and newsletters publish a description of the new features. For example, you can find my list of 2009 new features here.
4. If youre a subscription member, youll have access to e-learning content for the new release.

Succeeding in the AutoCAD world means being a perpetual learner. Hopefully, this list will help you find the best learning tools.

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Learning AutoCAD 2012 and Advanced AutoCAD 2012 Training Videos

Obviously you want to learn more about AutoCAD because you came to CAD-a-Blog.com.   If you are interested in more in-depth AutoCAD training then take a look at my AutoCAD 2012 training Videos;
Learning AutoCAD 2012 and Advanced AutoCAD 2012.

Each video contains about thirteen hours of training sessions and come with hands on files to use during each session.  Many of the chapters end with a project that will incorporate what you learned.   The Learning AutoCAD title has a final project that incorporates several chapter projects.  These projects build on top of each other and naturally progress through the training sessions.  This helps to demonstrate the development process of making drawings in AutoCAD.  The Advanced title ends with a discussion and example of Best AutoCAD Practices.

If you’ve never used AutoCAD before and want to learn or it has been a long time then check out the Learning AutoCAD 2012 video.  If you have been using AutoCAD and want to know it better, check out the Advanced AutoCAD 2012 video.  Each vide comes on a DVD that can be played on a PC or on a MAC.

Don’t want to wait for the DVD to ship?  There is an instant download version available for each title.

Can’t decide which title to get?  Get both!  Don’t pay full price for each title.  Save some money and get the AutoCAD Bundle.  There are two; one fore AutoCAD 2011 and one for AutoCAD 2012.

Do you have an iPad?  The publisher of these videos, Infinite Skills, has a free iPad app that allows access to some of the AutoCAD training videos as well as a many other training titles produced by Infinite Skills.

Have an iPhone or an iPod Touch and want AutoCAD training?  There’s an app for that.  Check out the Learn AutoCAD 2011 Quickly and Easily app from Infinite Skills.  It takes my training videos and allows you to watch them on your iOS based device.  This app is available for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.  They are AirPlay enabled to allow you to view your videos on your television if you are set up to do so.  They also include the working files so you can watch the video on your iPad while you use AutoCAD on your computer.

Screen shot of iPhone App

Regardless of which video your purchase or on which platform you watch them on, you will be receive quality training.  Each video was scripted, prepared and taught by me, Brian Benton.  I have been working with AutoCAD professionally since the early 1990’s in many different design fields.  I write for Cadalyst magazine and am active with AUGI, writing for their publications and also serve as the Hotnews Manager.   You aren’t purchasing generic, low quality YouTube videos.  These are high quality screen recordings and voice overs.  Each lesson provides in-depth insight on the various AutoCAD tools.  I don’t just tell you about the command and where to click to start it.  I go into detail on why you want to use specific tools and when to use them.  I share with you my decades of experience in using AutoCAD in real life situations.  I show you what to do and what not to do!

Screen Shot of App running a training video

If you are in the market for high quality AutoCAD training you have come to the best place.  Check out the videos and purchase the one that is right for you.  Don’t forget about the bundles.  If you are getting the beginners videos then spend just a little more for a full training session that will take you from an AutoCAD noob to an AutoCAD expert!  Well, close anyway!  If you are not yet using AutoCAD 2012 there are also AutoCAD 2011 versions available.  We also have an AutoCAD 2010 video for beginners.

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