AutoSketch 10 Overview

A Complete Set of CAD Tools from the Maker of AutoCAD

AutoSketch® 10, from the maker of AutoCAD® software, is 2D drafting software with easy to use tools and templates that allow anyone to create drawings quickly. AutoSketch 10 is newer version of AutoSketch 9.

Getting Started Tutorials get you up and running to create conceptual sketches, product specifications, floor plans, informative graphics, and more. A customizable work environment provides a flexible and efficient workspace for straightforward drawing. Content libraries give you the simplicity of ready-made, drag-and-drop content. Updated DWG format compatibility means you can create and share industry-standard drawings from the get-go.

AutoSketch Gets the Job Done

Hobbyists, illustrators, contractors and small business owners use AutoSketch to create technical illustrations, electrical drawings, product specifications, informative graphics and more.

Drafting Productivity

Straightforward drafting tools get and keep you productive. For starters, a wizard automatically guides you through the process of choosing the most appropriate symbols libraries, drawing scales, and toolsets for your drawing type. Drafters of varying levels can create accurate, professional-looking drawings fast with a feature-rich toolset that includes:

• Customizable grids and construction guidelines
• Associative dimensioning
• 3D special effects, including extrusion and transformation options
• In-place text editing
• Automatic snaps and locks that align objects precisely and hold them in position
• Powerful pan and zoom capabilities for moving in, out, and around your drawing

Drag, Drop, Draw

Save time by using pre-drawn content from the Content Librarian. Content includes:

• Kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom symbols
• Decks and landscaping icons
• Architectural graphics
• Mechanical parts
• Plumbing and electrical symbols
• Hatch and fill patterns
• Powerful pan and zoom capabilities for moving in, out, and around your drawing

Minimum System Requirements

Following are minimum System Requirements for AutoSketch. However while deciding hardware, please be mindful of what other programs you are likely to run on it. All programs require processing and memory and your overall requirements may be much higher.

• Intel® Pentium® 4 processor or AMD Athlon, 2.2 GHz or greater
• Microsoft® Windows Vista™ or Windows® XP SP2 32-bit operating system
• 512 MB RAM Microsoft Windows XP
• 1 GB RAM Microsoft Windows Vista
• 200 MB free disk space for installation
• 800x600 VGA display with true color
• Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 (SP1 or later)
• CD-ROM or DVD drive
• AutoSketch 9 software.

AutoSketch ® 10 Features

AutoSketch® 10, from the maker of AutoCAD® software, is 2D drafting software with easy to use tools and templates that allow anyone to create drawings quickly.

Fast Start-up

Application Wizard: The Application wizard provides a variety of drawing types to help you get started quickly. Whether you are drawing a building, an office layout, or a mechanical part, the application wizard configures the drawing environment by setting drawing scale, units, and toolbars. In some cases, it even starts the drawing.

Getting Started Tutorials: Create professional drawings in no time. A series of tutorials show you everything from starting a new drawing to moving and rotating entities, and adding dimensions. Create professional drawings in no time. A series of tutorials show you everything from starting a new drawing to moving and rotating entities and adding dimensions.

Customizable Work Environment

Flexible File Management: Open as many drawings as you want at one time, with multiple windows open for each drawing document. Combined with a variety of ways to open files and AutoSave, this capability helps you easily find the files you want and ensure that your work is safe.

Customizable Toolbars: Customize your workspace by turning on additional toolbars and creating your own toolbars. Add any command to custom toolbars. Toolbars can be docked or floated. When floating in the drawing area, toolbars can also be resized.

Customizable Grids: Use customizable rectangular, circular, and isometric grids to easily configure the drawing space to the drawing task. Create isometric views with special drawing tools optimized for the isometric drawing grid.

Guidelines: Create geometry by snapping to user-defined construction guides. Turn the guides off and on to build on previous work.

Powerful Drawing Tools

Drawing and Editing: Selecting, moving, and copying are fundamental commands in any type of drawing. The variety of AutoSketch selection tools gives you several ways to select anything, anywhere in the drawing. The familiar Microsoft® Windows® interface of these and other tools increases usability.

AutoArray: Dynamically populate any area with symbols or symbol groupings. As you move the cursor, the display shows a dynamically changing number of equally spaced symbols or objects in a selection set.

3D Effects: Access tools for dressing up 2D drawings for presentations from the 3D Effects toolbar. These tools automatically take a top, front, or side view and skew it, turning it into an isometric view. Add 3D text as a final touch. An automatic extrusion tool not only extrudes at a changeable distance and angle but also automatically removes hidden lines.

Lineweights: Produce crisp, high-quality drawings. AutoSketch 10 supports 24 line weights, ranging from 0.00 mm to 2.11 mm. Fill for Circles and Ellipses—Quickly fill and hatch circles and ellipses, just as you would any other shape.

Layer Management: Work more efficiently with user-friendly layer controls. Layer management and terminology is similar to industry standards used in AutoCAD® software.

Instant Precision Drawing

Content Librarian: Drag a symbol, hatch pattern, or solid fill from the content librarian window wherever you want it in a drawing. The area automatically fills in with the pattern or color. Drag a symbol from the content librarian and place in a prescribed location, using the symbol’s basepoint. AutoSketch comes with 256-color customizable color-palette and more than 50 new symbol libraries.

Symbol Libraries: AutoSketch comes with over 30 symbol libraries, including architectural design, landscape, site design, discrete electronics, integrated circuits, PC boards, plant design, and piping libraries.

Picture Support: Add photographs, scanned images, logos, or any other raster file to your drawings. You have complete control over the size and placement of images, including bitmapped images and annotations. Further enhance your drawings with textures or photorealistic images by adding bitmaps to enclosed areas. AutoSketch 10 supports BMP, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, ICO, EMF, and WMF formats.

Rich Text: Rich text capabilities support different kinds of formatting in a single block of text. Change the color, font, and formatting for individual sentences, words, or letters for visual consistency between CAD drawings and other documents. Spell Check verifies spelling for text, database information, and even dimensions.

In-Place Text Editor: Edit text in an intuitive and usable workspace.

Compatibility

DWG Support: Because AutoSketch drawings are DWG™ format compatible, you can create and view AutoCAD drawings for enhanced collaboration with colleagues and clients.

Windows Vista compatible.

More Documentation

AutoSketch 10 Getting Started (pdf - 1465Kb)

AutoSketch 10 Tutorial 1 — Create and Trim Entities (pdf - 201Kb)

AutoSketch 10 Tutorial 2 — Create a Birdhouse Drawing (pdf - 382Kb)

AutoSketch 10 Tutorial 3 — Create an Office Layout Drawing (pdf - 459Kb)

AutoSketch 10 Tutorial 4 — Advanced Exercises (pdf - 422Kb)