Home / Non-Accredited / Graphic Design & CAD / AutoCAD Advanced Course (3 days)
Quick Look Course Summary:AutoCAD Advanced Course (3 days)
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Length: 3 day(s)
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Price (at your venue): 1 Person R 21,125 EX VAT 3 Person R 13,658 EX VAT 10 Person R 9,155 EX VAT
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Certification Type:Non-Accredited
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Locations & Venues: Off-site or in-house. We train in all major city centres throughout South Africa.
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Training Advice
AutoCAD Advanced Course (3 days)
Experienced AutoCAD users draw faster, set and keep a drawing-office standard, and manage multi-drawing projects with fewer errors.
Many draughtspersons learn AutoCAD on the job. They can produce drawings, but they redraw what could be a block, set up every drawing by hand, fight with viewport scales and break references when files move. This AutoCAD advanced course is for users who already know the basics and want to work faster, more accurately and to one company standard.
Over three days delegates customise their workspace, position geometry exactly with coordinates, tracking and construction lines, and control it with geometric and dimensional constraints. They build and edit blocks and dynamic blocks, create a company template with units, layers, linetypes and standards, and set up text, dimension and multileader styles. Advanced layouts cover named views, clipped viewports, viewport layer overrides and annotative scaling. The course ends with external references: attaching, clipping, editing in place and repairing paths across a full drawing set.
This is an advanced 2D drafting course; it does not cover 3D modelling. Delegates work on practical drawing exercises throughout and can bring their own drawings and standards.
Why this course
For your organisation
- A shared drawing template and standard across the drawing office
- Less repeated drafting through blocks, dynamic blocks and constraints
- Fewer broken references and plotting errors on multi-drawing projects
- Faster turnaround on drawing revisions
For your delegates
- Work faster with a workspace and keyboard habits that suit you
- Build dynamic blocks that replace dozens of static ones
- Get viewport scales and annotation right first time
- Manage xrefs confidently across a full drawing set
What delegates will be able to do
- Set up a custom workspace and use keyboard entry, grips and layer tools efficiently
- Position geometry exactly with absolute, relative and polar coordinates, tracking and construction lines
- Apply geometric and dimensional constraints, and relax or remove them when needed
- Create, edit and manage blocks, write-blocks and dynamic blocks
- Build a drawing template with units, layers, linetypes and standards
- Create text, dimension, dimension sub-style and multileader styles
- Use named views, clipped viewports, viewport overrides and annotative scales in layouts
- Attach, clip, edit and repath external references across several drawings
Who should attend
Draughtspersons, technicians, engineers and designers who already use AutoCAD for 2D drawings and want to work more efficiently, and CAD leads who set drawing standards. Delegates should have completed AutoCAD Essentials (2D) (3 days) or have equivalent working experience.
Course outline
Day 1 – Efficiency, precision, constraints and blocks
Working efficiently in AutoCAD
- Building and saving a custom workspace
- Keyboard entry, command aliases and repeating commands
- Selecting and editing objects quickly with grips
- Working across several open drawings
- Layer tools that save time: isolate, freeze, match and walk
Accurate positioning
- Absolute, relative and polar coordinates
- Dynamic input and the coordinate read-out on the status bar
- Tracking and temporary tracking points
- Construction lines and rays
Constraints and parameters
- Geometric constraints: parallel, perpendicular, tangent and more
- Dimensional constraints and the Parameters Manager
- Relaxing and removing constraints
- Using constraints with blocks and xrefs
Blocks
- Creating blocks and choosing their layer behaviour
- Write-blocks for sharing symbols between drawings
- Editing in place and in the Block Editor
- Renaming and purging blocks
Day 2 – Dynamic blocks, templates, layouts and styles
Dynamic blocks in practice
- Adding parameters and actions
- Visibility states and lookup tables
- Building a door, window or valve block with several sizes
- Testing and editing dynamic blocks
Creating a company template
- Drawing standards and why they matter
- Units, limits and drawing setup
- Layer structures and the Layer Properties Manager
- Loading and scaling linetypes
- Saving and sharing the template
Advanced layouts
- Named views
- Viewport options and clipped viewports
- Layer property overrides in a single viewport
- Annotative scales and changing an object's scales
Text, dimension and multileader styles
- Text styles
- Dimension styles and sub-styles
- Multileader styles
- Matching styles to the company standard
Day 3 – Practical drawings and external references
Practical drawing exercises
- Producing a full drawing from template to plot
- Applying blocks, styles and layouts together
- Checking a drawing against the company standard
- Common errors and how to fix them
Working with external references
- Attaching DWG, PDF and image references
- Attach versus overlay
- Clipping references
- Editing an xref in place
- Changing reference paths across several drawings
- Binding references and packaging a drawing set with eTransmit
Course review
- Recap of the productivity techniques
- Questions on delegates' own drawings
- Action plan for the drawing office
How it is delivered
Three days, 08:30-16:00. Training runs on your licensed Autodesk software at your offices (or on licensed machines you provide); it can also run live online when every delegate has a licensed copy. One delegate or a group of up to 20. Each delegate receives a training guide and practice drawings. We deliver it at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and anywhere else in South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online for teams in different places.
AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor and Civil 3D are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. BOTI is an independent training provider.
What our clients say
“We were particularly impressed by the quality of facilitation and the practical relevance of the content presented. The programme was delivered with professionalism, clarity, and a strong emphasis on real-world application.”
“The facilitator effectively encouraged participation and used practical examples, discussions and interactive activities to ensure that the concepts were understood and could be applied in the workplace.”
“Business Optimization Training Institute facilitated Microsoft Excel Training for our company. The course was efficiently scheduled and planned around our timetable. We were impressed by the quality of training.”
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between AutoCAD Essentials and AutoCAD Advanced?
AutoCAD Essentials (2D) takes a beginner from first launch to plotting a dimensioned drawing to scale. Advanced assumes those skills and adds productivity: constraints, dynamic blocks, templates, styles, advanced layouts and external references.
Does this course cover 3D modelling?
No. It is an advanced 2D drafting course. Ask us if your team needs 3D work, and we will recommend the right product course.
Do we need our own AutoCAD licences?
Yes. Training runs on your licensed Autodesk software at your offices, or on licensed machines you provide. We train one delegate or a group of up to 20.
Is this an Autodesk qualification?
No. Delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance, and this is a non-accredited short course. BOTI is an independent training provider, not an Autodesk training centre. Autodesk runs its own Certified Professional exam for AutoCAD, which delegates can book themselves through Pearson VUE.
Can the course use our drawing standards?
Yes. Send us your template, layer standard and a few typical drawings beforehand, and the facilitator uses them in the exercises.
Can you run this course in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban?
Yes. We train on site at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and across South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online so a team spread over several offices can attend together.
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