From the course: AutoCAD LT Essential Training

Understanding full AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT - AutoCAD LT Tutorial

From the course: AutoCAD LT Essential Training

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Understanding full AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT

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- [Instructor] We're starting a new chapter now in our AutoCAD LT Essential Training Course. And what we're going to look at is working with AutoCAD LT file types. Now I've already mentioned that the default file type is a dwg file, an AutoCAD dwg file. Now when you first start up, you'll get this screen appearing in front of you. There will be a few differences, obviously you won't be logged in as me. As you can see there's my name there saying Welcome Sean. That's because I'm signed in here with my Autodesk account at the top. Now if you do want to start a new drawing and create a new dwg file, you'll use this Get Started section here in the Start tab. Now these file tabs are fairly new to AutoCAD but as you open each drawing you get a file tab for each drawing. Now what you would do is to start a new drawing file, you'd go from a template. I'll just go from the blank AutoCAD LT template which is this one here acadlt.iso. Iso indicates that it's a metric template, you can see that when I hover over it. If you want an imperial template, you'll use this one here, acadlt and you can see that's a normal English feet and inches drawing template. I'm gonna go with my usual metric one so when I click there that will start up a whole new drawing. And you'll notice at the top of the screen now there's my Drawing2.dwg. AutoCAD LT sequentially selects the number for each new file. So as you can see I've already had a Drawing1 open somewhere and possibly saved it as something in this particular AutoCAD LT session. But you can see at the next sequential number is Drawing2.dwg, Drawing3.dwg and so on. So you can see there now that I've opened up a new dwg file. Now what I want to discuss in this video now that we've got a dwg file open is the differences between AutoCAD LT and full AutoCAD because this course is AutoCAD LT Essential Training. LT is often referred to as light, AutoCAD light. LT actually stands for low technology and the whole idea is, it's that the LT version is a cut down version of the full AutoCAD. So for example, you cannot do any 3D modeling in AutoCAD LT but you can in the full AutoCAD. So if you referred to for example, my AutoCAD Essential Training where you do the full AutoCAD, you'll see there's a lot more functionality in the full AutoCAD as compared to AutoCAD LT. Now that doesn't detract from AutoCAD LT whatsoever because a lot of drafting still gets done in the 2D drafting environment as if you were using AutoCAD LT as a drawing board, for example. But what you will notice, for example, if I go up here to the quick axis toolbar and I select Workspace, Workspace is now obviously placed in the quick axis toolbar. If I click on the flyout there you'll see that the only workspace you get with AutoCAD LT is Drafting & Annotation. That's the default AutoCAD 2D drafting workspace. If I was in full AutoCAD, I'd have a couple of 3D workspaces I could go to as well. And that's the main difference apart from the fact that you cannot obviously program in AutoCAD LT either. The programming interface, the API is only available in the full AutoCAD. So what I'll do here, I go back to the quick axis toolbar and I just switch Workspace off again and as you can see it just expands the title bar a little bit. But those are the main differences between AutoCAD LT and the full AutoCAD. The actual interface that you use and the workflows that you use are exactly the same when you're working in 2D in either of the two products. So for example, if I wanted to draw a line in full AutoCAD, I'd go to the Home tab on the ribbon, into the Draw panel and there's the line command there. That's exactly the same in the full AutoCAD as well. If we move across the tabs though into Insert and also Annotate, Parametric is very much cut down compared to the full AutoCAD, for example. You'll notice View here, there are certain settings that you don't get in LT that you might get in full AutoCAD. If I go to Manage you'll notice that's very small as well. I can only do a little bit of customization, there's no programming, there's no macro tools available to me in AutoCAD LT. Output is very much the same as the full AutoCAD as is Collaborate as well with the Shared Views and the DWG Compare as well. So I'll just jump back to the Home tab now and what we'll do is we work through this particular chapter, it's just kind of go through the how will the file types work and how you use them when you're working in AutoCAD LT.

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