Book excerpt: This concise manual goes beyond a series of independent tools and commands to consider the process of creating professional-quality building design projects using the newest release of Autodesk Architectural Desktop (ADT). Content focuses squarely on the rationale and practicality of ADT 2005 through life-tested, practical lessons that emphasize "why" as well as "show" in order to help readers complete their projects successfully. The text and lessons combine to give an unmistakable sense of the value of the tools introduced as well as a clear indication of each tool's potential. The result is an up-to-the-minute resource that shortens the learning curve and instills confidence and comfort in usage of the software to create architecture.