Between the Lines

DWG Version History - AutoCAD 2005 Can Read DWG Files From 20 Years Back

I have added the DWG format version details from the past 20 years on my unofficial AutoCAD History page.

AutoCAD 2005 can read all DWG files back from AutoCAD version 2.5 up to the AutoCAD 2005 format which is a span of 20+ years. AutoCAD 2005 can save back to AutoCAD 2000 DWG format or export to the AutoCAD R12 DXF.

There is also the free Autodesk Batch Drawing Converter so you can batch convert DWG files to AutoCAD R14 DWG using original Autodesk DWG tools.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Geological Shaking and Moving in North America

It has been a very busy geological week with all of the earthquakes here in California including a magnitude 6.0 and the potential awakening of Mount St. Helens in South Western Washington just north of my old stomping grounds of Portland Oregon. I was in Spokane Washington back in 1980 when Mount St. Helens erupted the first time and remember all of the volcanic ash everywhere.

Now combine this with all of the hurricanes, floods, droughts, and it makes you wonder what is going on.

Some related links:

Mount St. Helens VolcanoCam
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

Cascades Volcano Observatory
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/

Current Earthquakes Worldwide
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/

Maps of Recent Earthquake Activity in California-Nevada
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/latestfault.htm

Recent significant events in the California region
http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/shake/ca/index.html

The Riverdeep EarthScience Center
http://www.riverdeep.net/earthscience/data/earthscience/earthscience_jump.jhtml

Hurricane and Extreme Storm Impact Studies
http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/

AutoCAD 2005 Update Released - Units Toggle for the Plot and Page Setup Dialog Boxes

This update allows you to switch quickly between inches and millimeters as you plot or define a page setup. The other dialog box options now change to display the unit of measurement setting you specify.

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=DL4735661

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=DL4735668

Description of Problem
In AutoCAD® 2005, the Plot and Page Setup dialog boxes have been modified so that the units of measurement displayed in the dialog box depend on whether an imperial or metric paper size is selected. However, some countries such as Canada use a combination of imperial-sized paper and metric measurements. This update modifies the Plot and Page Setup dialog boxes to reintroduce a setting in the Plot Scale area that controls the units of measurement display, independent of paper size.

Selecting inches or millimeters in the drop-down list changes the unit display in the following areas:

The Plot Scale area
The Plot Offset area
The printable area image and its tooltip description

Selecting a paper size continues to change the unit type displayed in the dialog box to correspond to the most common unit type associated with that paper. For example, choosing Letter paper size changes the displayed descriptions to imperial units (inches). With this update, however, you can override the default unit type for the paper size you have chosen by selecting Millimeters or Inches from the drop-down list in the Plot Scale area.

If you would like to particiate in beta testing future products and service packs like this one before they are released and provide feedback, sign up at http://myfeedback.autodesk.com.

Français AutoCAD 2005 Exercises in DWF Format

Nicolas Menu (http://www.wild-lights.com/) has created some AutoCAD 2005 exercises in Français (French). You will need the free Autodesk DWF Viewer to view the exercises as well as know Français.

http://www.wild-lights.com/CAD/dwf/Exercices.dwf

AutoCAD 2005 - Unable to insert or reload LZW Compressed TIF images or GIF images

From the Autodesk Knowledge Base Document for AutoCAD 2005 (http://support.autodesk.com) http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS84976:

After installing AutoCAD from a network deployment, you are unable to load LZW Compressed TIF images or GIF images. Opening a drawing with these images already attached does not load the images.

During the installation of the deployment, two DLL files were not copied to the correct location. This behavior is the result.

To resolve this issue, copy the files ielzwdec80.dll and egifrd80.dll to the C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared folder.

These files can be found in the network deployment location in this folder: \AdminImage\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared
or on the AutoCAD product CD in the following location:
\ACADFeui\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared.

What Time Is It?

If you are like me and communicate with people around the world as most do these days, then here is a great free utility for you from Microsoft.

Microsoft Time Zone runs in the system tray and allows you to view the date and time in various locations around the world. You can also quickly and easily add your own personal locations to customize Microsoft Time Zone the way you want. It is based on .NET Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1.

Link to Microsoft Time Zone

Cheers,
-Shaan

AutoCAD Tool Palette Document

The below document link for download is from a class at the 2003 Autodesk University. The document was originally written for AutoCAD 2004 and the Tool Palette Extension but is applicable to AutoCAD 2005 as well.

Make the Most of Tool Palettes in AutoCAD® 2004 and Beyond
By: Heidi Hewett

Use tools and techniques to quickly add existing block and hatch content to AutoCAD® tool palettes. In addition, you will explore the most recent tool palette functionality, as well as a few other surprises that are only available through the AutoCAD 2004 extension or AutoCAD 2005. To manage these powerful tool palettes, you will practice techniques for easily sharing and accessing multiple tool palettes.

Download GD11-3L.pdf

Use the Best Tool for the Intended Purpose or Output

I was asked in an email from a blog reader "with the free DWF Writer printer driver, why do I still post PDF documents".
The answer is quite simple. While DWF is awesome and lightweight, it was designed specifically for CAD vector data. PDF is great at text documents, but it is absolutely bloated and inaccurate with CAD vector data. So when I post word documents I use PDF and when posting CAD vector design documents use DWF.

It is the longtime proven statement and rule of thumb to use the best tool for the intended purpose or output. There is no one size fits all format and perhaps that will change in the future. but right now DWF for CAD and PDF for text documents. The one downside to using PDF text documents online is the delays while the Adobe Acrobat reader takes all of your system resources and memory and almost locks your system up while trying to open the PDF document. It would be nicer to have a text document format able to be embedded in the web page like Flash and Macromedia with the Flash Paper can do that, but not CAD vector data.

The Graphical User Interface (GUI) is geared differently between Adobe Acrobat and the free Autodesk DWF Viewer. While Acrobat is set for serial document reading top to bottom scrolling the Autodesk DWF viewer is view based and allows panning zooming and 3D rotation when viewing 3D DWF files. So you have one geared towards small paper documents and one geared and designed for CAD layouts and data. Each are specific to what they were designed for one for text and one for CAD.

Choosing an electronic format for your CAD data just because the secretary has a viewer installed for PDF is not a solid foundation or the best reason IMHO. Your dentist would hopefully not choose to use his home drill to work on your teeth, as he would choose a dental drill specific to what he is doing and working on.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Customer Error Reports - Please Send Them In

Unlike some software application developers, Autodesk has made an enormous effort and commitment to get the error reports for review and investigation to determine the cause and what can be done to resolve the error. Windows Error Reports (WER) are great and have assisted Microsoft in fixing many of the most common issues in their applications and operating system such as Windows XP. The problem is when another application developer relies on the generic error reporting that are sent to Microsoft instead of the developer of the application that experienced the error. The generic report from the non Microsoft software company states "We are sorry for the inconvenience, Please tell Microsoft about this problem". The most likely result is that Microsoft will not be fixing that other applications error.

Examples of Autodesk Customer Error Reports

Successful Customer Error Report Submission Result

The AutoCAD Customer Error Report includes the following:

Operating System name and version

Product name and version

Graphics configuration driver name and version

Applications that were loaded when the error occurred

Active command when the error occurred

Autodesk uses the data contained in the error report only to troubleshoot the problem. The error report is transmitted over a secure connection and is not used for marketing activities.
For a complete description of Autodesk's privacy policy.

Please send these reports in, as they will help in determining any problems you may be encountering. I have called people that included their contact details in the reports to let them know that their issue had been addressed in a Service Pack (see past article from November 2003 "Your Customer Error Reports Are Very Important").

Just remember we cannot fix what we are not aware of so anytime you see the Customer Error Report dialog, please send them in. Even in beta testing for AutoCAD, we have resolved most errors that caused an exit. By the time we hit the later betas, the customers testing the beta remarked at how difficult it was to get it to error out. It is usually a very small number of issues that are ultimately responsible for the majority of errors. When the issues can be identified or a pattern discovered they can be addressed and always include your contact details so we can if needed follow up for sample data or further details.

The Customer Error Report may be disconcerting in this age of widespread privacy violations, but there are no hidden motives here. Autodesk goes to great lengths to protect the customer’s privacy. The main purpose and main result of sending in Customer Error Reports is software with fewer errors or conflicts, and that benefits both of us. The benefit is for you as a user of the software encountering fewer errors and for Autodesk as the developer of the software as we want the most dependable product possible. so please when you see one of these Customer Error Dialogs fill them out with as much detail as possible and contact information and then submit it.

Cheers,
Shaan

Your Choice of CAD Vendor and Product Survey

I have created a online survey for current and former AutoCAD customers to get a better understanding of why they chose Autodesk or Brand X or perhaps both, and how we can do better. This survey will not be used for any sales activities. I would appreciate if you are a current or former AutoCAD customer if you could take the few minutes to complete the online survey.

Link to Survey

Sincerely,
Shaan Hurley

OpenCAD Offers Free AutoCAD Training for Architects, Engineers & Drafters

"Nancy Fulton, president of OpenCAD International Inc. says, "We decided to make all our drawing and editing tutorials available to the design community. We are aware that many architects, engineers and drafters are looking for work or are changing jobs and we want to help them get the skills they need."

Each Complete Support tutorial is a practical, step by step lesson which features dozens of full size images and all source files. There are more than a hundred free tutorials online covering AutoCAD 14, 2000, 2000i, 2002, 2004 & 2005. These tutorials are more than adequate to bring new AutoCAD users up to speed and will help existing AutoCAD users update their skills as required."

OpenCAD's Support Training Site www.complete-support.com

Hotfix for Inches/Millimeters toggle in the AutoCAD® 2005 and AutoCAD LT® 2005 Plot and Page Setup Dialogs Now in Beta

<Update 9/29/04>
Hotfix released: This update allows you to switch quickly between inches and millimeters as you plot or define a page setup. The other dialog box options now change to display the unit of measurement setting you specify.

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=DL4735661

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=DL4735668

Due to customer reports and feedback since the removal of the Inches/Millimeters toggle in the AutoCAD® 2005 and AutoCAD LT® 2005 Plot and Page Setup dialog boxes, we will be issuing a Hotfix.
This update will allow you to switch quickly between inches and millimeters as you plot or define a page setup. The other dialog box options now change to display the unit of measurement setting you specify.

Description of Problem
The Plot and Page Setup dialog boxes had been modified so that the units of measurement displayed in the dialog box depend on whether an imperial or metric paper size is selected. However, some countries such as Canada use a combination of imperial-sized paper and metric measurements. This update modifies the Plot and Page Setup dialog boxes to reintroduce a setting in the Plot Scale area that controls the units of measurement display, independent of paper size. The workaround has been to use a driver that has metric paper sizes but not all older drivers supported this so we are making a Hotfix available.

Selecting inches or millimeters in the drop-down list changes the unit display in the following areas:

The Plot Scale area
The Plot Offset area
The printable area image and its tooltip description

Selecting a paper size continues to change the unit type displayed in the dialog box to correspond to the most common unit type associated with that paper. For example, choosing Letter paper size changes the displayed descriptions to imperial units (inches). With this update, however, you can override the default unit type for the paper size you have chosen by selecting Millimeters or Inches from the drop-down list in the Plot Scale area.

Note: Choosing Pixels in the units list makes the list unavailable until an imperial or metric paper size is selected.

If you would like to enroll in this pre-release beta:
To enroll please go to: http://myfeedback.autodesk.com and select Sign up from the Active Zone Menu. You will then be asked to fill out a profile. Please select Yes to participating in betas and for Product Usage be certain to select AutoCAD 2005 or AutoCAD LT 2005 at minimum (it is important that you select this product). Once the profile is complete and submitted you will be emailed a password for the site. When you logon you will be able to see all the zones you are added to. The process of adding participants to zones is not automatic and requests are reviewed periodically during business hours.

*Profiles can be updated by selecting the User button at the top of most pages when you are signed in to the MyFeedback portal. The assigned password can also be edited here.

Thank you.
The AutoCAD Team

Important Info for Autodesk University 2004

Check out Lynn Allen's tongue in cheek Public Service Announcement for Autodesk University 2004.

"AUOS" ;-)

Click Here

Do you have AUOS?
Get a diagnosis from "Dr. Lynn Allen"
Windows Media Player

How to Avoid "AUOS"
(Autodesk University Overwhelm Syndrome)
Windows Media Player

Cheers,
-Shaan

AutoCAD 2005 Webcasts for September and October 2004

AutoCAD 2005 Webcasts
Agenda for September and October 2004

Webcasts are one hour and will run from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PST on Tuesdays.

Link to Schedule and Webcast Participation Details

September

9/21/04 – Customizing Tool Palettes in AutoCAD 2005
Speaker: Heidi Hewett
Learn how create and modify custom tool palettes with minimal effort. Regain valuable drawing space while significantly increasing productivity and improving drawing consistency.

9/28/04 – Creating Tables in AutoCAD 2005
Presenter: Heidi Hewett.
Learn how to create and modify tables and table styles. By using the new table tools, you no longer have to draw, move, copy, and edit individual line and text objects to create tables in your drawings.

October

10/19/04 – Managing Sheets in AutoCAD 2005
Presenter: Heidi Hewett.
Learn how to implement valuable sheet set functionality one step at a time. Open, plot, etransmit, and archive entire sets of drawing sheets from one central location. And, if that isn’t enough, see how you can automate the tedious task of managing and tracking view numbers, sheet numbers, and callout data from sheet to sheet.

10/26/04 – Utilizing Fields in AutoCAD 2005
Presenter: Heidi Hewett.
How smart is the text in your drawings? Learn how to replace your ordinary text and attributes with dynamic field data. Use fields to display drawing properties, plot stamp data, and object properties within text, block attributes, and tables.

AUGI TIPniques - September 2004 AutoCAD’s “drag and drop”

Article by Chris Lindner and Autodesk User Group International

"This month we continue our discussion of AutoCAD’s “drag and drop” (DnD) functionality. Last month we focused on the use of DnD in files and folders. This month, let’s get inside AutoCAD and see what DnD has to offer."

Click Here

AUGI Customization Corner: Leveraging Palettes, Part 4

Article from Lee Ambrosius of HyperPics and Autodesk User Group International

Customization Corner - September 2004

"This month we take a look at Tool Palette groups to organize and access content that has been created. Before continuing though, I would like to share some information that I found in response to some questions about last month’s article on Importing and Exporting Tool Palettes."

Click Here

Are Free Trials Worth Your Time? - AUGI September 2004

Nice article from Autodesk User Group International

Are free trials worth your time? The quick answer is yes, particularly if the alternative is buying software from a third-party developer “blind”—without knowing much about the software or the developer. Still, even free trials can be a waste of your valuable time if the software isn’t given a proper tryout. Here’s some advice from pros about the best way to evaluate software you are considering purchasing.

Click Here

Vizdepot Visualization Contests

From Steven Papke and Vizdepot.com

The VVC (short for Vizdepot Visualization Contests) will be organized into a series of six monthly contests. Each month the type of contest alternates focus between the Charrette and the Challenge.

Conceptually speaking, the Charrette is an opportunity for users to focus on a concept or idea that they may have never considered or used before. While the Challenge, on the other hand, is a chance to actively use and apply that knowledge.

The Charrette does not seek solely to find the best rendering. This format is intended to enhance each users skills by engaging the software's functionality as well as develop the users abilities inherent by their participation and posting WIPs in the forums. During the first week of the month, a task will be presented in the form of a model and text explanation, and the goal is to find new methods to achieve it. In the end, the users will be able to vote that which they feel is the most successful at the given task. Users are encouraged to post their work in the forums and share their techniques in how they work.

The Challenge is intended to be a competition like format with a twist. Its goal is simple: to find the best rendering. Basically users will assimilate their information in a collaborative methodology. Over the course of the first week, users will suggest buildings by architects and include photos, vote, and present research for all users to gain from. Then for the following 2 weeks, user's can post work in progress imagery, question's and comments in the forums for support. Accuracy, in terms of measurement, is not critical; whereas proportion is. At the end of the 2 weeks, the users can post their final work and vote on the images, gauging them against the photos for their similarities in lighting, materiality and overall ambience.

So, it follows, that both a format and schedule were also developed.

September
Charrette 1: Lighting studies
October
Challenge 1: Exterior Model

November
Charrette 2: Material studies
January - (skip December, holidays, AU, etc.)
Challenge 2: Interior Model

February
Charrette 3: Modeling Studies
March
Challenge 3: Match Photo

A progression of the users skills will be tested, ultimately the final Challenge being the most difficult.

Link to Contest Info

Last few days

I spent the labor day holiday in the Nevada desert near Baker and Great Basin National Park. I even got a chance to fly around in a small plane while there. I packed for hot weather, but it was snowing in the area the day I had arrived. I posted some photos to my Daily Grind photo blog including a photo of the famous highway 50 sneaker tree.

Other items over the holiday was a Beta Programs and MyFeedback unplanned server migration back to Windows 2000 Server due to the way Windows 2003 Server IIS6 handles large file downloads and consumes all of the servers memory. I really liked Windows 2003 Server except for the issue when you have hundreds downloading large files from the server via http and it loads the server memory buffers causing all sorts of problems. Hopefully Microsoft can address this soon and I can migrate back the servers.

Not Again...
Florida and the Caribbean are being hit by a third hurricane in the past few weeks. Hurricane Ivan is classified currently as a category 5 hurricane with 160MPH winds.

National Weather Service information on hurricane IVAN
Click Here

Hurricane Ivan tracking:

Help the Florida residents by donating to the Red Cross.

I wish I could go down and help as I really like Florida and hate to see it with such extensive damage.

Shaan

Combining CAD DWF's and Mind Mapping

RobiNZ Blog: MindManager For AEC ~ Combining CAD DWF's and Mind Mapping

MindManager For AEC ~ Combining CAD DWF's and Mind Mapping
I’m always dealing with both CAD files and related projects. Combining Project Information and CAD data for review and presentation was a challenge but it’s just become a whole lot easier. A combination of MindManager and Design Web Format (DWF) allows my Project Plans and CAD data to be easily united. Free viewers for both file formats make sharing this information very simple.

Read More

Haunted Haystack Landing House Destroyed by Fire

On July 21st 2005 I wrote about a spooky house in the town I live in and its billing on the web as "the most haunted house in the world". Link to Orginal Post

Well it has now burned down as of Tuesday morning under suspicious conditions. I have received so many emails about this blog posting from local residents, teenagers, and many others. I even had a local firefighter who was at the fire scene email me after he had read my blog about the house.

The last eerie thing is I was there Sunday and got my photo taken in the doorway.

Perhaps this is the very last photo ever taken of the suspected haunted house. When I was there Sunday I pulled up and a car full of teenagers took off. The place has been a real magnet due to some believing the place was really haunted. I am not sure what I think about the place and if it really is haunted, but just the look of the place can give you the creeps.

I guess this is the final photo and story of the house at Haystack Landing.

Story from the local paper:

Argus-Courier
Haystack Landing house destroyed by fire
An early morning fire Tuesday gutted a well-known south Petaluma home, leaving nothing behind but a cement pad, fire officials said.

The historic Haystack Landing house, billed by some as "the world's most haunted location," burned to the ground shortly after 1:40 a.m. Tuesday.
Jerry Corda, chief of the San Antonio Fire Company, said engines from several departments responded to the early morning call but when firefighters arrived, "it was pretty much fully involved" and the home couldn't be saved.

"It must have burned pretty fast," said Corda, who lives near the property and saw the sky over a neighboring hill fill with an orange glow.

The house, built in the middle of a marshy area a few miles south of the city, dates to the 1800s and was once part of a port for ships traveling the Petaluma River. It was considered an important gateway to Petaluma.

"There’s a lot of history behind that building," Corda said. Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading further, he said. Corey Youn

-Shaan