AUTOCAD advice

[DelTrotter]

where can i get auto cad from? and what do you recommend to learn this well?
im at uni and need to practic eon sutocad but i have never used. what is best way to learn this?
at uni they use 2000 version, but they said any version even the newer ones are good enough to learn on, is this right?

any help and starting points would be greatly appreciated?

[Sanj[UK]]

My college also used Autocad 2000. You should be able to get it from most places (Ngs/torrents etc)

BUT good fucking luck using it.
I did autocad at college and its really one of those things you need to pay attention for..you can fluke some of the basics but for anything that involves curves/shading etc..look at your notes lol

Autocad and Opnet..two bits of software which i hope i'll never have to use again.

[I Black Belt]

Start small mate is my advice.
if you can get hold of "autosketch" which is a smaller, easier to use version of Cad, then that's where I advise starting.
Autocad can be a real bitch, especially if you're trying to learn it quickly.
It's a bit like photoshop. True mastery takes time and patience I'm afraid.

[Waka]

Autocad 2009 and 700MB of Autocad books were posted on newsgroups recently - shout back if you want the nzbs.

W.

[Over Carl]

Autocad 2009 from what I've been told offers no more functionality than earlier ones, just has an office 2007 style interface.

If you are using 2000 at college, then I would personally recommend something like 2008 MEP for your home pc as it still pretty much has the same style interface as older versions, but has loads of functionality not present in previous versions.

Talking of older versions, don't get used to the screen menu. Autodesk have been gradually phasing it out for a while - its tricky just to get it properly working with mep.

I can't say about other people, but I sat at home at it every day for around a month until I had my epiphany and it all started fitting together. Still took another 6 or so weeks before I managed to get myself to a standard where I could do something of any value to an employer. After 2 short term contracts it really starting becoming a lot easier and I leant a load in more detail. At the end of that I would say I was competent at 2d. I've never done anything like this prior to that except a few hand done tech drawings at school for my gcses and looking at the odd technical drawing.

However, one thing to remember is that it is way too solid for any one person to totally master. I've worked with someone who used to work for Autodesk in a support role - he was hired where I was working to support us. He knew an amazing amount, but I've seen things done that he didn't know about.

You should note that now isn't the best possible time for cad operators - many contract workers are sat on their arses at the moment as the credit crunch has hit this sector hard. However that doesn't mean the sector is dead, just nowhere near as busy as it was this time a year or two ago.

I'm getting aches in my thumbs from typing this now so I'm gonne stop, but if you have any more questions, I'll answer as best as I can.

[DelTrotter]

cheers guys for the advice il speak to you later carl. about getting a copy.
your all diamonds cheers