Between the Lines

See You at Autodesk University this Year?

The premier CAD user conference with more of everything. I will be there as usual and also have some fun activities planned for those daring enough to venture out into Vegas until the wee hours of the morning. This is not only a place to have fun, but you also meet with fellow CAD users and peers and gain some great training with tips & tricks to take back with you. I will also have some exciting announcements and opportunities. Last year I gave people attending access to the beta of AutoCAD 2005 many months before it was released.

AU 2004 Home Page
Sessions Click Here

Shaan's Unofficial Autodesk University web site Click Here

Between the Lines Autodesk University Catagory Click Here

Between the Lines Autodesk University 2003 Photo Gallery Click Here

I hope to see you there this year and meet you, but if you cannot attend I will be blogging from the conference just like last year.

Cheers,
-Shaan

The AutoCAD 2005 Service Pack 1 Beta Is Released on the new MyFeedback Portal

Service Pack 1 is for the following Autodesk products running on all supported operating systems and languages:
AutoCAD 2005
AutoCAD LT 2005

All you need to do is sign up. After you sign up, we will then approve your account and you will receive an email notice of the approval. Some projects will be by invitation and based upon the data you have entered into your profile when you signed up.

You then log into http://myfeedback.autodesk.com using your username and the password that was emailed to you.

Once logged into http://myfeedback.autodesk.com, you can select the your approved MyFeedback Zones and then navigate within that Zone using the Active Zone Menu. In the MyFeedback Zone, you will have access to project specific News, Gallery images, Downloads, Feedback, and Discussion Forums.

As you are added to other MyFeedback Zones, they will show up on your MyFeedback page.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Architectural BIM in 3D DWF

The Building Solutions Team sure are a busy group. They have not only been busy with new product development, but also with investigating the new 3D DWF format to output an architectural model with all of the data in the model. This would indeed another great example of Building Information Modeling "BIM". This extends the building information model to those that do not have the designing application such as ADT, but they can view all of the data in the new and free Autodesk DWF Viewer 5. Having a bloated and flat 2D document package in a PDF format cannot even begin to compare with the 3D DWF building models.

Also read the article by Chris Yanchar on intelligent DWF from ADT Click Here

No timing or announcements on this but keep your eyes on this blog as well as Chris Yanchar's Between the Walls blog.

Also just in case some other vendors may say the DWF format is proprietory, tell them they simply do not know what they are speaking of.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Get a 30 Day Trial of Autodesk DWF Composer

Improve the efficiency and speed of the entire design review process—review, markup, and revisions— with Autodesk® DWF™ Composer. Built around the DWF file format and developed specifically for engineering design data, Autodesk DWF Composer helps you reduce costs, errors, and cycle times by keeping the whole process digital.

http://www.autodesk.com/dwfcomposer

You can now get a free 30 day trial Click Here

Cheers,
-Shaan

Autodesk DWF Viewer 5 - Adding More Performance and 3D DWF Files!

I previously mentioned this updated free DWF Viewing product back on July 16th in this blog, but now there is more details and a generic download location for the viewer.

Autodesk® DWF™ Viewer, a small, free, downloadable application, allows anyone to view and print DWF™ files – the compact format designed for sharing AutoCAD drawings. Autodesk DWF Viewer 5 adds 3D viewing of DWF files published from Autodesk Inventor. It also adds features for anyone who needs to view your AutoCAD files, including:

Performance enhancements to view and print raster- and text-based DWF files

Viewing of markups made with Autodesk® DWF™ Composer, and

Enhanced APIs to control layer visibility using wildcards.

Download the free Autodesk® DWF™ Viewer to view and print 2D and 3D drawings, maps, and models in DWF™ -- the industry standard for sharing data-rich design files electronically. Small, fast, and secure, DWF preserves the fidelity and integrity of designs and allows anyone to access the complex design data without the originating design application. DWF files are easy to create and post to the web, and support up to 60 million dpi – the precision required for complex design data.

The new download page.
http://www.autodesk.com/dwfviewer-download

You can download the Autodesk DWF Viewer 5 from:
http://www.autodesk.com/dwfviewer-inventor

Sample 3D DWF File: Download Arbor_Press.dwf

Word of warning, do not try to do 3D with your Adobe PDF, as it does not exist. If it did exist given PDF history and track record, it would be 10 times the size of the DWF, eat tons of system resources, and be 100 times slower.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Going Back to the Amazon Jungle, Do You Want to Join?

After receiving many emails about a trip to the Amazon, I am considering putting together a group trip.

I am looking into putting together a group of people to travel back to the love of my life the Amazon Jungle. My daughter thought I was on the moon last time I was down there due to how far away and remote it was.

The preliminary plans are to fly to Sao Paulo Brazil then transferring to Rio for a few days for some fun in the sun. After Rio, a trip over to Manuas and a week in the Amazon with my favorite guide Antonio. We would go to the Amazon EcoPark and then a trip through the city of Manaus. You would see monkeys, local tribes, caiman (alligators), go piranha fishing and eating, and more.

I am also investigating for some local charities in Rio and Manaus Brazil that I can assist with perhaps get them some Autodesk products and initial training as other teams are doing around the world. I would also perhaps hold some local charity assistance events such as setting and donating some AutoCAD seats to those in the favelas to increase their standards of living and give them a trade they would not otherwise be able to do.
The flavelas in Brazil are truly sad but the people in them for the most part are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. I just donated AutoCAD a week ago to some architects traveling to a shantytown in South Africa and training the local residents to design and build their own new houses. The UN is arranging for some micro loans from the IMF to improve their Aids and crime ridden poverty communities. The architects from the United States and prominent large firms are donating all of their time and costs. Teach the local people to use CAD to change their own community and gain skills to rise from poverty.

The way I do it is purchase a flight to Sao Paulo then before going down there by a Brazil Air pass for $400 which gets me 4 flights anywhere like Sao Paulo to Rio, Rio to Manaus, Manaus to Iguaçu, and then Iguaçu to Sao Paulo for the flight home. This is just an idea at this point but I really want and need to get back there.

If you are interested in this, email me at shaan@autodesk.com with the email subject line of "Brazil Trip 2005".

"When my baby
When my baby smiles at me
I go to Rio De Janeiro
My-oh-me-oh
When my baby smiles at me I do
The Samba and La Bamba"

My Brazil 2004 Photo Gallery

Cheers,
-Shaan

Upcoming Betas Planned for AutoCAD 2005 and ADT 2005 Service Pack 1

We will begin registration and beta testing of the AutoCAD 2005 and Architectural Desktop Service Pack 1 next week on the new "MyFeedback Portal".

More details of these service packs and the changes will be announced soon as well as the new Feedback Portal.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Creepy Haunted Place...Haystack Landing

This haunted house is in the town I live in. I went to check it out after hearing about it and noticing it along highway 101. The experience and being at the house definitely made my skin crawl. I stopped by tonight just to get photos of the place. While taking photos I heard someone yell "Hey Mister". I am not kidding. A person came out of a broken down burned out bus, just to the North of the property. The person looked strange and haggard enough that I immediately got back in my truck and sped off.

More on the very dark history of this haunted house billed as the "World's Most Haunted Location Haystack Landing, Petaluma, California"
http://www.haystacklanding.com/history.html
http://www.haystacklanding.com/incident.html#top

Sincerely Creeped Out...
-Shaan

Another Person Inspired to Record Video from Their Vehicle

It is nice to know I am not alone in thinking that a video of a drive is entertaining when the speed is increased. I noticed a trackback to my blog from a person in Australia that was inspired by my video of my commute in my post "Have I Snapped".

CarCam v1.0 shows a drive around Sydney Australia by Mick Stanic.

CarCam v1.0 Click Here

I am heading up to the Sierra mountains by Truckee and just a few minutes West of Lake Tahoe tomorrow for the day to deliver a care package to my son at Boy Scout camp. I am seriously thinking about once again strapping the camera onto the top of my truck or the front bumper. Imagine a video trip from the San Francisco Bay area up to the summit of the mighty Sierra mountain range in about 10-15 minutes.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Steven Papke Visited Monday

AutoCAD & Viz Power User and Autodesk customer visited while on vacation here in the Bay Area. We gave him the grand tour the behind the scenes of AutoCAD and Viz.
Steven is from Jacksonville Florida and runs http://www.vizdepot.com/ as well as works for KBJ Architects, Inc.

If anyone else is visiting the San Francisco Bay Area and wants a tour behind the scenes and meet some of the team responsible for AutoCAD and Viz, just email me.

I posted a picture of Steven in front of the Autodesk Civic Center buildings into my Daily Grind Image Gallery. This is where AutoCAD is developed and much of the Viz team is located.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Nice AutoCAD Blocks Article by Beau Turner

Beau has written a nice simple article on his blog Rndr4Food about updating blocks in AutoCAD.

"Do you use acad blocks? Do you use the same blocks in multiple drawings? Ever need to update the blocks?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions then this posting is for you. I recently gave a refresher/updated materials course for a few AutoCAD users and part of this involved different methods of using blocks and redefining existing definitions in different drawings. If you need to accomplish this here are a few examples of ways to accomplish this"

Will render for food...: AutoCAD Blocks

Toronto Regional AutoCAD Exchange Meeting Next Week Tuesday, July 27, 2004

TRACE (Toronto Regional AutoCAD Exchange) is a local AutoCAD user group in Toronto Canada. They will be discussing DWF Composer features and compare DWF versus PDF format. They will also have a Q&A session about new features in AutoCAD 2005.

You may find the complete info regarding the meeting on http://www.trends.ca/~trace/.

Feedback Direct to the Autodesk Product Teams

If you want to provide your feedback on products direct to the teams responsible for them, there is a direct way via a feedback form. This feedback goes directly to the team members. I can speak for the AutoCAD Team as one of those on the feedback list, we reply to much of the incoming email as we possibly can and also take it into consideration the provided feedback for future solutions and development work.

AutoCAD Team Feedback Form
Click Here

Bug Report Form
http://www.autodesk.com/submitbug

There is a feedback link on every product page at the bottom shown as "Contact Us".

Cheers,
-Shaan

The Trouble-Free PC: Tune it up. Back it up. Ramp it up.

Here is a helpful link to a PCWorld artcile on making sure your system is in the best shape and performance as well as your data safe and backed up. Click Here

Cheers,
-Shaan

More DWF Benefits

DWFs Retain Design Information

A DWF may appear to be a simple image of the original drawing, but in fact it has retained background information about the drawing, including its

point location

line thickness

snapping

scaling

measurements

fonts

hyperlinks

layers (the DWF creator must select the include layer option)

external reference information (known as "xrefs")

DWF vs. PDF

DWFs are much like Adobe® PDFs; however they are specifically designed to address the needs of design and engineering drawings. Unlike PDF, DWF can do all of the following:

Drawing Information

snap drawing objects to each other

preserve measurements

preserve line thickness

preserve scale

differentiate between scales in views

maintain and manage layers

external references (known as "xrefs")

preserve graphical hyperlinks

Image Information

set scale on images

Display

handle the gradients hatch pattern properly

better image resolution

Performance

perform multi-page publishing in one step and save the set for later use

create smaller files

print faster

pan and zoom faster

Integration

send redlines back into the AutoCAD 2005 family of products

embed DWF Composer into a PowerPoint presentation, Microsoft® Word, or Excel

use a free API (Application Programming Interface for programmers) for customization

Free DWF Creator and Viewer

DWFs are created with a “Publish” command integrated in the latest version of many Autodesk products and viewers are available for free on the Web for older versions of our products.

DWFs can be viewed by anyone with the free viewer, Autodesk DWF Viewer.

Free DWF Windows System Printer which can print DWF files from most Windows applications such as non Autodesk CAD applications such as Bentley's MicroStation®, Graphisoft's ArchiCAD®, PTC's Pro/Engineer®, SolidWorks®, and ESRI's ArcGIS®.

Did You Know the Autodesk DWF Composer Includes a DWG File Viewer

If you purchase the new Autodesk DWF Composer to markup DWF files and more you will also get a DWG file viewer. It is based on AutoCAD. In addition to viewing, you can also Publish files to printers and DWF files and even use page setups and plot syles. The DWG viewer is a seprate application from the Autodesk DWF Composer.

Thanks to Brian Roepke of the Autodesk Inventor Team for pointing out that you also get this DWG Viewer from the Vault CD for Autodesk Mechanical products such as Autodesk Inventor Series and Professional that include the Vault CD.

Opening a DWG

Viewing a DWG

Plotting a DWG

Publishing a DWG to printers or DWF

You can also manipulate the layers

You cannot use the command line however as this is a very limited viewer for vieing, plotting, and publishing.

Cheers,
-Shaan

A New Free Autodesk DWF Viewer 5 for 3D DWF Available for Download

We have released a new Autodesk DWF Viewer 5 specifically for the new 3D DWF format but it also has many updates for regular 2D DWF files especially for raster and text.

This version is currently under a limited beta release until August.

Click Here

Sincerely,
Shaan Hurley

Group Therapy with Bill Fane of Cadalyst Magazine

Cadalyst - Group Therapy

Create groups in AutoCAD so you can work with multiple objects as a single unit within your drawings.

July 15, 2004 By: Bill Fane
Cadalyst Magazine

What can I say, I really enjoy reading Bill Fane's articles. He has a very entertaining way of presenting technical subjects and mixes in some humor. This perfect mix is great for remembering the subject of the article and the tips and you also gain a few obscure non CAD related tips at the end of his articles.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Modeling a Log Home in Autodesk Revit

There is an interesting tutorial on how to create sculptured log walls in Autodesk Revit on Revitcity.com.

Also while at Revitcity, have a look at the gallery of what Revit users have created using Revit as some are quite impressive.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Looking in the Rear View Mirror - Keith Bentley Finds the AutoCAD 2005 Annotation "Impressive"

It is not only nice to be the leader in 2D drafting and design and have others chasing our tail wind, but it is even nicer when the competitor acknowledges some of the features. They have been mentioning things they will do in their V9 next year, but by then we will be even further down the road.

Keith Bentley the Chief Technology Officer of Bentley Systems which produces MicroStation:
From: May 2004 at the BE Conference in Orlando Florida from Keith Bentley's Keynote speech which is available on the Bentley website.
The quote is also available here: Download Audio Quote

"We have a lot of work to do and frankly, I think that some of the capabilities that Autodesk released in their AutoCAD 2005 having to do with annotations were quite impressive"

Another of the comments made at the Bentley BE conference 2004 was the comment by Greg Bentley who when discussing DWF and PDF in his keynote speech, said he bet that Carol Bartz the CEO of Autodesk did not have the Autodesk DWF Viewer installed on her computer. Greg would have lost that bet so luckily he never bet the farm.

Ray Bentley a developer at Bentley Systems:
Quote 11/6/2003 on the AutoCAD User Interface “UI”
Bentley V8 General Public Discussion Group

"If we don't do something better in V9, then we don't deserve to be in this business...”

Image of AutoCAD 2005 with a sample drawing open with the MTEXT in-place editing with tabs and indents and more.

Image of Bentley Microstation V8 2004 Edition with a Bentley sample drawing with it's Mtext equivalent, but without many of the AutoCAD 2005 annotation capabilities.

Cheers,
-Shaan

AutoCAD Tips on DWF and More by Michael Beall the "AutoCADTrainerGuy"

Michael Beall published his July 2004 AutoCAD Tips and Tricks which are always a great resource to pickup a few good productivity enhancing tips. Michael also has a great publication that is another great resource named the AutoCAD Toolbelt in addition to the other books and training he does.

DWF: Writing and Reading

Convert Text to Mtext

Mtext Property Edits

Revision Clouds

Click Here

Cheers,
-Shaan

Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2

Below are some links to information about the upcoming Windows XP Service Pack 2 which is expected in August. I have been running the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Release Candidate 2 on my machine and really like it.

We at Autodesk have been testing our products with the Service Pack as Microsoft makes many changes to the way software can operate in order to close some APIs and vulnerabilities.

All in all, this Service Pack is a very good thing and even adds some new features and changes like the new and easier wireless configuration dialog.

The Lowdown on XP Service Pack 2 RC2 Click Here

Windows XP SP2: Trouble Ahead for Developers, Users from eWeek Click Here

Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 Detailed Information and RC2 download Click Here

Changes to Functionality in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2

If you install Windows XP SP2 (RC2) on a Tablet PC, you will automatically be upgraded to RC2 of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 (codenamed “Lonestar).”

The New Wireless Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP Service Pack 2 http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg0604.mspx">Click Here

Manually Configuring Windows Firewall in Windows XP SP2 . The firewall is enabled by default now and there is a Security Center Click Here

Cheers,
-Shaan

Access Nested Objects in a Selection Set Using the Object Properties Manager in AutoCAD

Ryan Small has posted a nice tip article to his "The Autodesk Informer" blog. The tip is on how you can use the Object Propties Manager to access a list of nested objects in a selection set. A quick example would be to select a bunch of objects of various types in your drawing. With the items selected you can essentially sort and sub select based on entity type like all circles, lines or hatches. This is a quick way to change all circles in a selection set to a same diameter.

Link to the tip: Click Here

Cheers,
-Shaan

AUGI TIPniques - July 2004 - The Autodesk Knowledge Base

Below is a link to a helpful article by Michael Perry discussing the Autodesk online Knowledge Base and other helpful resources. Michael Perry is a member of AUGI and he works in the UK for FaberMaunsell (An AECOM Company) within its Bridges and Special Structures Division.

Click Here for the article.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Discuss 3D With an AutoCAD Product Manager

My coworker Eric Stover an AutoCAD Product Manager would like to speak with customers about 3D in AutoCAD. He would like to speak with customers that he has not spoken with recently and use AutoCAD.

All you need to do is email Eric at eric.stover@autodesk.com with the subject line of “3D and AutoCAD” and please include your contact details. In addition, a brief explanation of how you use AutoCAD and what release would be helpful.

He will be contacting some of the customers who email him to arrange for a time that he can call you for a discussion of approximately 30 minutes in length. The discussion would be to gather your suggestions, wishlist items, and feedback on 3D usage in AutoCAD.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Sneak Peak at the New Beta and Feedback Web Portal

This all new "MyFeedback Portal" will include your enrolled beta programs in your own page after you register one time. You will be able to see beta programs that are available to you, change your own contact info, surveys, voting for features or wish lists, image galleries per beta, and much more .

I will provide more information on this as we get closer to the launch date but I wanted to provide a sneak peek here.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Ahhhh Finally a WiFi Networked DVD Player

Yes I am a techno geek....

The GoVideo D2730 Networked DVD player. I already have one PC at home setup as a PVR system setup with Beyond TV from SnapStream to the TV with a 802.11 b/g wireless network.

Pretty soon I will no longer need to leave my home office for the living room or kitchen.

-Shaan

Top Ten Photography Tips

Here is a nice reference for those who like to be reminded of the basics in photography to get the best shots.

Top Ten Photography Tips Click Here

Also a good review of my camera the Canon S1. Megapixel amount is not the number one thing to look for with a digital camera IMHO. A good zoom and a stabilizer are what are needed. Click Here

AutoCAD Mechanical 2005 and AutoCAD Electrical 2005 are shippping!

The shipping announcement was posted on the In The Machine blog.

Read the blog announcement: Click Here

Cheers,
-Shaan

David Harrington's New AutoCAD 2005 Book is Now Available

My good friend and the former AUGI President David Harrington has just shipped a new book on AutoCAD 2005. I recently visited David in Tampa Florida. Tampa and Florida are very nice and beautiful. Hot, but very nice. The cover of David's book shows the new Arizona Cardinals Stadium which was done in AutoCAD.

Link to purchase the book from Amazon.com Click here

Cheers,
-Shaan

AutoCAD 2005 Sheet Set Manager Tutorial by Alireza Parsai of www.cadpanel.com

Alireza of www.cadpanel.com has posted a nice tutorial walking you through the AutoCAD 2005 feature Sheet Sets and how to use them.

Table of Contents

Sheet Set Manager Home Page

Defining a New Sheet Set

Adding Layouts to a Sheet Set

Defining Subsets

Renaming and Renumbering Sheets

Changing the Properties of a Sheet Set

Defining New Sheets

Inserting Named Views

Cross Referencing Sheets

Creating a Sheet List Table

Publishing a Sheet Set

Archiving a Sheet Set

Creating an e-Transmit


Link to AutoCAD 2005 Sheet Set Manager Tutorials: http://www.cadpanel.com/trainees/2005sheetsetmanager/040704ssm2005.htm

Cheers,
-Shaan

Another CAD Related Blog Announcement "The Autodesk Informer" by Ryan Small

Check out Ryan Small's blog "The Autodesk Informer". Ryan is from Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The content is top notch and covers many Autodesk related products, helpful product tips, and information.

Link to The Autodesk Informer blog http://myblogs.typepad.com/autodesk/

I also added this to my links on the side of my blog.

Cheers,
-Shaan

A Helpful Tips for AutoCAD 2005 Article by Lynn Allen

My good friend Lynn Allen has written another great article in Cadalyst. It has 27 great tips to maximizing your use and productivity of AutoCAD 2005.

Click Here

Cheers,
-Shaan