Recently, I wrote about some spring cleaning tips, but spring had even more in store. The new version of AutoCAD2020 was launched on March 27. Hopefully, you’ve installed it already, but if not, perhaps you will soon.
You also may be wondering what’snew in this release, or perhaps you’re just looking for a good resource for how to get started or new things to try. Oh, you could spend hours searching the web, watching online videos, or visiting multiple blog sites (starting here, of course), but you may not be aware that AutoCAD has a learning page built right in.
The Learn Page
When you start AutoCAD, you’ll initially go to the Start Tab. This is where you’ll find your most recently used list and a handy place to get started with new or existing drawings. You actually land on what is called the Create page. Often ignored though is the Learn page. Simply click on Learn at the bottom, or the smaller Learn navigation icon on the left to switch tabs (depending on your display size, you may not see the smaller icon).
The Create page will slide to the right, and the Learn page will appear. Here, in the upper left, you’ll find the New Features Overview video for 2020 (or whatever version you’re using). In the center section are eight short videos to help you get started with various features.
On the right, you can click through various tips (woohooo – more tips!!), or even access some online resources. Some time ago, I wrote about the Hitchhiker’sGuidetoAutoCADBasics, which is still worth your time to check out.
When you’re ready to get back to work and apply some of the things you’ve learned, simply click on either of the Create links and you’ll be back where you started.
Don’t let new versions intimidate you. Go ahead and give AutoCAD 2020 a try. If you’re on a Subscription or Maintenance plan, head over to your Autodesk Account and download the latest release today. If not, download a 30-day free trial of AutoCAD 2020 or AutoCAD LT 2020 to get started. Finding what’s new is as easy as changing the page on the Start tab. Check it out.
More Tuesday Tips
Check out our whole Tuesday Tipsseries for ideas on how to make AutoCAD work for you. Do you have any favorite AutoCAD tips? Tell us in the comments!
