Interested in helping shape future versions of AutoCAD? If so, visit Autodesk's My Feedback Portal (http://myfeedback.autodesk.com) and sign up. In return for small — or sometimes considerable — time commitments, you can contribute your ideas to the AutoCAD Futures group or apply to beta test the next release of AutoCAD.

Although there are still some independent, newsreader-based discussion groups out there, the majority of the AutoCAD action nowadays happens on Autodesk's own moderated discussion groups. These are user-to-user groups, but even so, you frequently see Autodesk employees jumping in to answer questions in their areas of expertise — sometimes on their own time!

To see what's there, point your browser to www.autodesk.com/discussion. There are product-based discussion groups for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT.

Several of Autodesk's employees run their own blogs through the companies servers, and they're chockablock with tips, techniques, and some occasionally highly entertaining digressions. For a list of all Autodesk's blogs, go to www.autodesk.com/blogs. The AutoCAD-based blogs I highly recommend are Shaan Hurley's Between the Lines, Heidi Hewitt's AutoCAD Insider, and Lynn Allen's blog (that's what it's called, honest!).

I'm reluctant to list any specific sites; I just went looking for an old favorite, and it's not there any more. Your search engine will be your best friend here. Apart from Autodesk's own Web presence, there are thousands upon thousands of other sites scattered around the world. Search on "AutoCAD tutorials" for online exercises, or try "AutoCAD blogs" for some independent views and opinions as well as tips and tricks for using AutoCAD.

Autodesk University is an annual event, sponsored by Autodesk, that usually runs for four or five days in the late autumn. For the last few years, the location has alternated between Orlando, Florida, and Las Vegas. The days are filled with educational sessions in a dozen or more different disciplines, and the nights are filled with socializing and taking in the local attractions. Check out http://au.autodesk.com to find out how to "schmooze like a pro" and "come home a guru"!

Autodesk's Authorized Training Centers, or ATCs, are located around the world in both private institutions and public colleges and institutes. At an ATC, you attend scheduled, instructor-led classes where you learn AutoCAD from the ground up. Courses are designed for rank beginners or experienced users who want to learn the latest customization techniques. To find the location of your nearest ATC, browse to www.autodesk.com/atc.

AutoCAD has had an incredibly loyal following in the quarter-century since its initial release. There are many reasons for this, but one of the main ones was the especially enthusiastic individuals who would arrange to meet up one evening a month and talk about what they'd discovered they could do with AutoCAD. Those folks are still out there — although some are a bit grayer and more wrinkled than they used to be — and they still love to get together and talk about AutoCAD. And most are especially welcoming to newcomers! My own local group, the Vancouver AutoCAD Users Society (www.vaus.org), happens to be the oldest user group in existence, and its newsletter grew and grew until it became Cadalyst magazine! To find a nearby group, enter "AutoCAD user group" and your city in your browser's search box.

AUGI (the acronym for Autodesk User Groups International) is the umbrella organization for the global user group community. You don't even have to belong to a group to participate — individuals can join too, and membership is free. AUGI is probably best known for the annual wish list it presents to Autodesk; the list is compiled from requests from members for changes or new features in AutoCAD. It's often the case that top wish list items find their way into new releases of AutoCAD, so here's another place where you can help to shape future releases. Browse to www.augi.com to find out more.

As much as I'd like to fill you in on all the wonders of AutoCAD, there's only so much I can do in a 400-page book. As I explain in the Introduction, I simply don't have the space to cover things like 3D and customization (not that either of those are of much use to AutoCAD LT users anyway). There are dozens of books on AutoCAD — just go to www.amazon.com and search on AutoCAD if you don't believe me! For a more comprehensive look at AutoCAD (which a thousand pages allows!), have a gander at Ellen Finkelstein's AutoCAD 2008 and AutoCAD LT 2008 Bible. For a brilliant introduction to 3D modeling in AutoCAD, pick up Lee Ambrosius's AutoCAD 2008 3D Modeling Workbook For Dummies. Both titles are published by Wiley Publishing, Inc.

There used to be many more CAD magazines than there are now; in North America, AutoCAD alone had three periodicals devoted to it: Cadalyst, Cadence, and AutoCAD User. Cadalyst is the last one standing, and it no longer covers AutoCAD exclusively, but it's still worth a look. You can get a taste of the magazine's content and find out how to subscribe at www.cadalyst.com.