Between the Lines

AutoCAD 2009 - Rollover Tool Tips for Object Properties

The new rollover tooltips in AutoCAD 2009 gives you the ability to see common object properties as you rollover an object on screen. You can also disable them if you don't want them but give them a chance, AutoCAD system variable "ROLLOVERTIPS set to 0.

These rollover tooltips are customizable in the Customize User Interface "CUI".

So I changed what would display when I rollover a Hatch object to show the cumulative area.

Couple more nuggets:

Robert Green published an article in Cadalyst Autodesk Unveils 2009 Lineup, Part 1

Did you notice that Steve Johnson started a blog?

Eeek...what has the digital world come to. ;-)
Please join me in welcoming Steve who lives far out there in Perth Australia to the CAD blogging world.
http://www.blog.cadnauseam.com/

AutoCAD 2009 Team Tip - User Tags, a Productivity Enhancer

Contributed by AutoCAD Team member Randall Young

Creating user tags can make finding commands easier in the menu browser. By default no tags are assigned to commands, but when they are they will also be displayed in tooltips.

 

Figure 1 – This is the line command tooltip with the tag “Tag” assigned.

 

 

 

 

 

Step 1 – Adding a user tag in the CUI (Customize User Interface Dialog)

A. Launch AutoCAD 2009

B. Type CUI in to the command line and hit enter

C. Search in the command list: for LINE and select it

D. Select the node in the CUI dialog that says tags and click the ellipsys (…) button

 

Figure 2 – Is showing the CUI dialog and the new nodes that were created for 2009 (Tags node is selected).

 

 

 

 

 

E. Type in your user tag, we will use “Tag”, and ok out of the Tag Editor dialog.

F. Apply and OK out of the CUI dialog

Step 2 – Searching in the Menu Browser

A. Click on the Menu Browser button (Big red A on the top left) or hit Alt + S

B. Type “Tag” into the search field

 

Result: SHAZAM! You now have a faster way to find commands.

Figure 3 – The Menu browser search with a hit on our tag.

Notice: The Tag icon with the tag text in the tooltip and also that tag icon on the right of the menu browser symbolizing what was the hit in on the search. There are icons for CUI, Tag, and the menu location.

DWFx and AutoCAD 2009

The DWFx format has been added to AutoCAD 2009. DWFx is based on the XML Paper Specification (XPS) format from Microsoft. You can view and print DWFx files using Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Vista and Windows XP (with latest updates for .NET). 

In AutoCAD 2009 You can plot or publish to DWFx, attach DWFx files as Underlays, and read DWFx files using Markup Set Manager. You can still and will continue to be able to plot the older DWF format as well.

The soon to be released FREE Autodesk DWG TrueView 2009 will provide the ability to open and view DWG or convert to DWF or DWFx as well as much more including the much requested measuring/inquiry capability. See the Beyond the Paper posting DWG TrueView 2009 is cool.

The soon to be released and FREE Autodesk Design Review 2009 supports viewing, some editing, and markup for both the DWF and DWFx formats.

 

The free web service for viewing your 2D and 3D files from any operating system through a browser Project Freewheel (http://freewheel.labs.autodesk.com) now supports DWFx and the official Autodesk Freewheel (http://freewheel.autodesk.com/) perhaps in the future.

AutoCAD 2009 System Requirements

For those with inquiring minds, here are the hardware and software requirements for AutoCAD 2009.
-Shaan

AutoCAD 2009 System Requirements
Hardware/Software	Requirement
Operating system	32-Bit
	Windows Vista Enterprise
	Windows Vista Business
	Windows Vista Ultimate
	Windows Vista Home Premium
	Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 2
	Windows XP Home, Service Pack 2
	64-Bit
	Windows Vista Enterprise
	Windows Vista Business
	Windows Vista Ultimate
	Windows Vista Home Premium
	Windows XP Professional
32-bit	You cannot install AutoCAD if Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 with Service Pack 1 (or later) is not installed on the installation workstation. You can download Internet Explorer from the Microsoft website: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/
Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 or later
64-bit
Internet Explorer 7.0 or later
Processor	32-bit
	Intel® Pentium® 4 processor or AMD® Athlon, 2.2 GHz or greater
	or
	Intel or AMD Dual Core processor, 1.6 GHz or greater
	64-bit
	AMD 64 or Intel EM64T
RAM	32-bit
	1 GB (Windows XP SP2)
	2 GB or greater (Windows Vista)
	64-bit
	2 GB
Graphics card	1280 x 1024 32-bit color video display adapter (True Color) 128 MB or greater, OpenGL®, or Direct3D® capable workstation class graphics card.
	For Windows Vista, a Direct3D capable workstation class graphics card with 128 MB or greater is required1024 x 768 VGA with True Color (minimum)
Hard disk	750 MB for installation (Windows XP SP2)
	2 GB available not including installation (Windows Vista)
Pointing device	Mouse, trackball, or other device
DVD/CD-ROM	Any speed (for installation only)
	32-bit
	Download (ESD) and installation from DVD or CD-ROM
	64-bit
	Download or DVD
Additional recommendations for 3D use
Hardware/Software	Requirement
Operating system	32-Bit
	Windows Vista Enterprise
	Windows Vista Business
	Windows Vista Ultimate
	Windows Vista Home Premium
	Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 2
	Windows XP Home, Service Pack 2
	64-Bit
	Windows Vista Enterprise
	Windows Vista Business
	Windows Vista Ultimate
	Windows Vista Home Premium
	Windows XP Professional
Processor	Intel® Pentium® 4 processor or AMD® Athlon, 2.2 GHz or greater
	or
	Intel or AMD Dual Core processor, 1.6 GHz or greater
RAM	2 GB (or greater)
Graphics card	1280 x 1024 32-bit color video display adapter (True Color) 128 MB or greater, OpenGL®, or Direct3D® capable workstation class graphics card.
	For Windows Vista, a Direct3D capable workstation class graphics card with 128 MB or greater is required1024 x 768 VGA with True Color (minimum)
	For graphic cards that support Hardware Acceleration, DirectX 9.0c, or later, must be installed. Installing from the ACAD.msi file does not install DirectX 9.0c, or later. Manual installation of DirectX is required, in this circumstance, for Hardware Acceleration to be configured. For more information about tested and certified graphics cards, visit http://www.autodesk.com/autocad-graphicscard

AutoCAD 2009 Quick View Layouts and Drawings

A handy new navigation feature in the soon to be shipping AutoCAD 2009 is the ability to visually see the preview of Layouts and open drawings in your session. These two features can be accessed from the icons in the status bar or the commands QVDRAWING and QVLAYOUT.

Quick View Layouts
When you select the Quick View Layouts icon  you will see the Layouts with thumbnails. You can hold the Ctrl key and then use your mouse wheel to dynamically change the image tile size. There are options to pin this feature to stay on, create a new Layout, publish, or just as a navigation method between Layouts where you can see the name and a visual preview.

Quick View Drawings
When you select Quick View Drawings icon you will see open drawings and their Layout preview in a dynamic view thumbnail tile. When you move your mouse from the drawing preview to one of its Layouts the thumbnail view sizes will change and focus view from the drawing to the Layouts. You can hold the Ctrl key and then use your mouse wheel to dynamically change the image tile size. There are options to pin this feature to stay on all the time, or open or create a new drawing.

Cheers,
Shaan

Sorry Seattle, no Irish River Dancing from me Tonight

Today and tomorrow I was supposed to be in Seattle but a family emergency needed my attention and I had to cancel the travel. Luckily for the PSAUG meeting tonight Alex Lepeska will be able to stand in and I sent some materials and offered to participate by phone and take the hecklers well deserved insults for not being there as well as answer 2009 product line questions. Wicked Cool Matt Murphy will also be there so they are in great hands and the world famous Matt Murphy Clay Head will remain safe here with me. Heidi Hewett will be taking on more tomorrow at the CAD Camp for me. I am also missing out on time with Robert Bell and trying to get him to mount the Pikes Market brass pig again for a new photo.

    I promised I will be back in Seattle to make up for this and besides like I have said many times before I love Seattle and my PSAUG user group friends after all I consider the Pacific Northwest my adopted home region after many years in Oregon. I also heard the weather is nice right now in Seattle. You never get to chose your times for emergencies.

Sincerely,
Shaan

AutoCAD Rendering e-Book

Erhan Toker posted an 18 page detailed AutoCAD Rendering e-Book “Creating Render Materials in AutoCAD" from A to Z, for free on his Daily AutoCAD Blog. e-Book: Creating render materials in AutoCAD

Kudos and many thanks to both Erhan and Orhan for their excellent team in Turkey and all the knowledge they spread! The Daily AutoCAD blog is definitely a must subscribe RSS feed.

Your Wish is our Command - New AUGI Wish List Voting Cycle Starting

Get your wishes granted without requiring a magical lamp. Instead of just waiting to see something magically appear in an Autodesk product, get involved and vote for this cycles AUGI member submitted wish list items. Autodesk reviews these items especially the top vote getters.  AUGI Membership is free, what do you have to lose? More than likely your bound to gain thousands of like minded Autodesk product users that want to make a difference or share knowledge. Also be thinking ahead 3 months for the next nomination cycle to add new wish items to be voted on.

Announcement from BLAUGI the AUGI Blog

February 2008, AutoCAD Wish List Ballot is now open!

February 2008, AutoCAD Civil 3D Wish List Ballot is now open!

February 2008, Inventor Wish List Ballot is now open!

February 2008, Revit Architecture Wish List Ballot is now open!

Round Two - More AutoCAD 2009, other Autodesk 2009 Product Links, and Autodesk World Press Day

I made it back from San Francisco for the Autodesk World Press Days but took 4 hours longer due to an engine not starting on the plane (commercial airline), then after an hour and a half of them working on it we took off headed for Salt Lake city only to circle for over an hour over the Western Utah desert while the Salt Lake City airport was closed due to heavy snow. While checking ion for the flight I was talking with a few people about my travel curse passed onto me by my former boss Shawn Gilmore. My travel curse has been fairly unique in many respects like North Korea firing misses over the China Sea while I was above, trapped in Queenstown New Zealand, luggage being lost and once right before meeting Autodesk founder John Walker in Switzerland, jets loss of fuel while over the Atlantic and an emergency landing in New York, computers stolen, police raid on a jet for a passenger smoking in the bathroom, several inches of snow in Tokyo before I landed and it does not snow there too often, stuck for 7 hours in custom while Brazilian customs agents went on strike, detained in Canada only to be told a few hours later "it must have been an American security database issue", Been in too many storm of the century examples like in Vancouver last year when it seemed the world and all trees were being rearranged and all power out and water contaminated, and many more unfortunately. People now ask me to email them before I travel to allow them to escape the region or avoid the same flights.

I had a few sessions and meetings yesterday. I had a good discussion with Ralph Grabowski, ran into Martyn Day for only a second but long enough to get his picture, attended a lunch presentation from an auto designer from China's NAC. On the way to the airport I shared a cab with a journalist and had a great discussion about the worlds eroding infrastructure such as bridges and utilities and how their continued lack of attention after construction will result in a poor future.

-

One thing I took away from the World Press Days that I was not really aware of was how critical NavisWorks was to the large projects  in the entire AEC Industry and BIM projects to save time, resources, and costs by showing a project in 4D where time is considered in the 3D project so you can plan project flow or all design data in 3D for collision detection and multi discipline coordination. NavisWorks was shown in most of the AEC presentations from large buildings and their piping or overall construction to the new span of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco.

Ok onto the links for 2009 and World Press Day Presentations:

Autodesk 2009 Product Links from Between the Lines by Shaan Hurley (me)

Some AutoCAD 2009 thoughts from Mistress of the Dorkness by Melanie (Stone) Perry

Introduction to the AutoCAD 2009 Ribbon from The CAD Geek by Donnie Gladfelter

AutoCAD 2009 - What's New... from CADit by John Benstead

The new AutoCAD 2009 Action Recorder for Valentines Day! from Lynn Allen's Blog by Lynn Allen

A Huge Weight is Lifted from Inside the System by Kyle Bernhardt

AutoCAD 2009… A closer look at the Action Recorder from Heidi Hewett's Blog by Heidi Hewitt

Autodesk Launches New Solutions for Building Information Modeling from BIM & BEAM by Nicolas Mangon

Streamlining Workflows in Utilities: Technology is No Longer the Excuse from Between the Poles by Geoff Zeiss

Autodesk World Press Days 2008 -- Day 2.75 from WorldCAD Access by Ralph Grabowski

Autodesk World Press Days 2008 -- Day 1.75 from WorldCAD Access by Ralph Grabowski

Autodesk World Press Days 2008 -- Day 1.5 from WorldCAD Access by Ralph Grabowski

Autodesk World Press Days 2008 -- Day 1 from WorldCAD Access by Ralph Grabowski

Autodesk Impression to be available to Subscription Customers from Victorian AutoCAD Users Group by Peter Godfrey

New Navigation Tools - Revit 2009 from Revit OpEd by Steve

AutoCAD Architecture 2009 from Knowing What You Don't Know About CAD by Mike Massey

Bloggers -- Kids in the Candy Store from CAD Insider by Roopinder Tara

Journalists and Bloggers-- Old School Meets New School from CAD Insider by Roopinder Tara

Automated Keynoting in Autodesk Revit from Breaking Down the Walls by Matt Dillon

AutoCAD 2009 - Action Recorder from Blog da CADKlein in Portuguese by Luciana Klein

Cheers,
Shaan

Autodesk 2009 Product Links

The news, highlights, and opinions are now starting to flow on the web. Once the products start shipping and people start using the products I am sure there will be much more information. Currently only partners, beta testers from http://myfeedback.autodesk.com, and Autodesk employees have been using the pre-release products. Also most of the CAD industry press and journalists are in San Francisco for the Autodesk World Press Days, so once many of them get back online or printing I am sure there will be articles from them.

• The 2009 Products Including AutoCAD 2009 from Between the Lines by Shaan Hurley (me)
• The Word is Out... AutoCAD 2009! from Heidi Hewett's Blog
• AutoCAD 2009 in 2 minutes CAD Panacea by R.K. McSwain
• AutoCAD 2009 is Knocking at the Door! from Lynn Allen's Blog
• AutoCAD LT 2009 from The LT side of things by Erik Deyo
• AutoCAD 2009 Coming Soon! from Kate's CAD Tips
• AutoCAD LT 2009 -- First Thoughts from Kate's CAD Tips
• Impression R2 Announced at World Press Day from Outside the Lines by Todd Hunter
• Autodesk Impression 2009 - Coming soon... from Inside Hues by Lisa Crounse
• Autodesk making an Impression? from RobiNZ CAD Blog by Robin Capper
• Autodesk 2009 Products and AutoCAD 2009 Announced
• AutoCAD 2009 - What's New... from CADit by John Benstead
• AutoCAD 2009 from WorldCAD Access by Ralph Grabowski
• Revit 2009 w/Mental Ray from CADDManager by Mark W. Kiker
• AutoCAD 2009 is Coming from Victorian AutoCAD Users Group by Peter Godfrey
• AutoCAD 2009 が！ U2's blog 今、by Yuji Suzuki
• Revit 2009 Information Released from Revit OpEd by Steve
• So what's new with Autodesk Design Review 2009? from Beyond the Paper by Volker Joseph
• Time flies, it’s Autodesk 2009! from RobiNZ CAD Blog by Robin Capper
• Welcome to Revit Architecture 2009 from Knowing What You Don't Know About CAD by Mike Massey
• Autodesk Official 2009 Product Press Releases from Autodesk | AutoCAD | Design Software News by IMAGINiT

• Autodesk Launches New Solutions for Building Information Modeling (PR Newswire) from Yahoo! Finance: ADSK News
• Autodesk Introduces Productivity Boosts to AutoCAD Software (PR Newswire) from Yahoo! Finance: ADSK News
• Autodesk Puts the Cost Saving and Time-to-Market Benefits of Digital Prototyping within Reach of Mainstream Manufacturers (PR Newswire) from Yahoo! Finance: ADSK News
• Autodesk Launches 3ds Max 2009 Entertainment Software and Introduces 3ds Max Design 2009 for Design Professionals (PR Newswire) from Yahoo! Finance: ADSK News
• Autodesk Enhances Geospatial Software Solutions for Utilities, Telecommunications and Government (PR Newswire) from Yahoo! Finance: ADSK News

Autodesk World Press Days

     I am in San Francisco attending the Autodesk World Press Days and posted some photos from yesterday. The lighting was dim during the presentations and I did not want to be popping flashes in the presenters eyes, so I just took a bunch of photos and looked for the best and crossed my fingers the presenters would not move during the longer exposure needed. I need to fully annotate my photos but wont have the time until after my flight this afternoon.

     It was a very interesting day with many presentations from Autodesk Industry  and management and industry leading customers. I will have to digest my audio and notes for more information. I was really impressed the story of reshaping of a CNC Machine Manufacturers business by an Autodesk Inventor customer Jeff Richlin using digital prototyping, Mortenson Constructions explanation of the construction process changes with BIM, and also the Sony video of the Chicago Spire building. Note Sony an Autodesk Maya house showed a screen image of the upcoming Flying Spaghetti Monster Movie.

     So much was going on until late at night and so many familiar faces in addition to the Autodesk employees like Bill fane, Dr. Joel Orr, Ralph Grabowski, Kenneth Wong, Roopinder Tara (nice blogging discussion), Bill Adams, Martyn Day, Ed Goldberg, and met a couple from VerySpatial during lunch who use new media and podcast on GIS/GPS.

     I need to get back to the event before my boss notices I am running late as today is demos and press interviews but I hope to make time to see the Autodesk Labs demo area as well as play the game Rock Band or Guitar Hero which is being shown as it was created in Autodesk's 3ds Max.

Presenters during the day:

Carl Bass, President and Chief Executive Officer
Amar Hanspal, Senior Vice President, Platform Solutions and Emerging Business
Chris Bradshaw, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer
Jeff Kowalski, Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
Marc Petit, Senior Vice President, Media & Entertainment
Robert “Buzz” Kross, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Solutions
Jay Bhatt Senior Vice President, Architecture, Engineering and Construction Solutions.

Industry:
Film & Gaming – Autodesk's Maurice Patel
Customers:  Sony/LightStream, Smoothe, and Harmonix
AEC – Autodesk's Phil Bernstein
Customers: GM, The Smith Group, Mortenson Construction
Telcos, Utilities – Autodesk's Alan Saunders
Customer: Las Vegas Valley Water District
Manufacturing, Automotive – Autodesk's Keith Perrin, Ed Martin
Customer: Richlin Machinery

  
 

Autodesk World Press Days 2008

The 2009 Products Including AutoCAD 2009

     Today the announcement of the next release of AutoCAD 2009 code named "Raptor" (like a hawk) as well as many other products have been announced from Autodesk World Press Day. The products will start shipping later but are not currently. I will begin to post on the features in more depth as well as link and trackbacks to those doing the same as there is a huge CAD blogging community now. The official new products content on the Autodesk.com website and public discussion groups will go live in the next few weeks with further details as the launch begins.

     During beta I think the largest hurdle was getting used to the User Interface changes of the new ribbon. Most got used to it after using it and it is more customizable than the standard MS Office ribbon and can also be turned off. The Release Candidate that was last delivered to beta sites has now been updated based on their feedback and reporting and we wish to sincerely thank them all for the active feedback and helping shape the future of the products.

Here is a current AutoCAD 2009 and AutoCAD LT 2009 Preview Guides

• Download AutoCAD 2009 Preview Guide
• Download AutoCAD LT 2009 Preview Guide

Some screen shots

 

Here is a list of highlights from AutoCAD 2009 Product Manager Doug Cochran

• User Interface

Menu Browser

· Perform a real-time search for menus and menu actions in the menu browser

· Create search tags for any menu command to make searches more effective

· Access the menus through the menu browser or the classic menu bar

· Specify menus to display in the menu browser by customizing a CUI file

· View a list of the most recent saved files

· Pin files in the most recent list to keep then listed regardless of files saved later

· Recent documents show thumbnails, date modified, version info, last saved by, and currently opened by

· You can group recent files by date or type

· Recent Actions show recently performed actions such as file > open, tools>options for playback

Ribbon

· Provides a single, compact placement for operations that are relevant to the current workspace.

· The ribbon is composed of a series of tabs, which are organized into panels labeled by task

· Can be oriented horizontally or vertically

· Fully customizable using the CUI editor

· The Ribbon helps you to organize commands that you use frequently on panels that are similar to toolbars

User Assistance

· Level 2 enhanced tool tips provide additional information when hovering over items

· Customizable Dynamic Help to quickly access and link help documentation for commands

· Show Me animations are embedded into Help file

· Enhanced Task Dialogs provide clear and concise information for the task at hand

· InfoCenter Search Bar connects searches directly into Autodesk knowledge base and forums

· With dynamic tool tips, you can select F1 to go directly into the help context for that item.

Quick View

· Quickly flip between multiple open drawings

· Quickly flip between multiple drawing layouts

· Resizable drawing thumbnails provide visual drawing identification

Quick Properties

· The Quick Properties panel lists the most commonly used properties for each object type or a set of objects that are selected

· Easily find and customize the desired object properties in your drawing

· The Quick Properties panel can be customized to display properties depending on your needs by using the Customize User Interface (CUI) editor

• Navigation

View Cube

· 3D navigation tool that appears when the 3D graphics system is enabled

· Allows you to switch between standard and isometric views

· Displays the current viewpoint of the model based on the current UCS and the North direction defined by the WCS of the model

· You can switch to one of the available preset views, roll the current view, or change to the Home view of the model

Steering Wheel

· SteeringWheels are tracking menus that are divided into different sections known as wedges. Each wedge on a wheel represents a single navigation tool. You can pan, zoom, or manipulate the current view of a model in different ways.

· Can save you time and clicks by combining many of the common navigation tools into a single interface. Wheels are specific to the context that a model is being viewed in.

· The appearance of the wheels can be controlled by changing the current mode, or adjusting the size and opacity level of the wheels

ShowMotion

· ShowMotion improves the design process by providing designers with superior review capability

· Use Authoring Mode to create animations and transitions

· Use Presentation Mode to play back Shots and Sequences

· Shots are captured camera positions to which cinematic movements may be added to create motion and transitions like those seen in television commercials

• Productivity

Action Recorder

· Increase productivity by recording common day to day repetitive tasks and commands with action recorder

· Action macros can record most commands that can be used from the command line and some of the user interfaces that you are already familiar with.

· Use the Action Recorder to record commands and input values for an action macro

· Share action macro files with others

· Create custom user prompts in the macro

· Modify macros via the action recorder tree view

· Create easy customization without any programming experience

Modeless Layer Manager

· Changes made to layer settings can be viewed without exiting the layer manager

· Columns can be frozen to aid scrolling across many columns in the layer list.

· Layer manager can now be set to dock, autohide, and anchor just like tool palettes

· Layer manager can always remain open during your drawing session for instant access

Export Layout to Model Space

· Export all visible objects from the current layout to the model space of a new drawing

· With the capability to export layout objects to model space, you do not have to limit the use of layouts in order to exchange drawings with other CAD systems

· Provides the capability to take a snapshot of a drawing layout to create a ready-to-use model space drawing

Geographic Location

· Create a single marker that defines the geographic location of the entire drawing

· When location information is embedded in a drawing, a geographic marker — visual representation of location information — is created

Dynamic Xclip

· Xclips boundary frames can now be dynamically adjusted without having to re-create the xclip boundary

eTransmit

· Can now Purge drawings before packing

· Have the option to Not save the drawing before packing

Materials

· Option to fit Gizmo to Object

· Can now Fit Mapping to Gizmo for material map scale

· Gradient Ramp procedural map

Mtext

· Pressing Escape key during Mtext now prompts for option to save mtext input

· New variable to control mtext table toolbar to display as fixed, floating, or in the ribbon

Find and Replace

· Find and Replace text in blocks

· Replace text in Xrefs

· Ability to use wild cards

Blocks

· Selecting a block or dynamic block and then typing “W” will invoke the Wblock command and the selected block’s name will be listed in the source text box

Array

· When Previewing an Array, the current view is no longer locked and will permit zooming in panning while previewing the array result

Non-rectangular viewports

· Non-rectangular viewports now display properties in the property palette and can also input scale and specify lock or unlocked settings from the property palette.

Plotting

· In the Plot dialog, If a plotter device is missing, the indication of the word “Missing” is now prefixed in the plotter device name instead of being suffixed. This avoids the possibility of not knowing the device is missing since the plotter name may get truncated in the Plotter Name text box especially if the Plotter name is long.

Purge

· Shortcut key for Close is now implemented in the Purge command

• Workflow

DWFx

· The future of DWF — is based on the XML Paper Specification (XPS) format from Microsoft.

· Create DWFx files by publishing or plotting your drawing files

· DWFx can be used as an underlay

DGN

· DGN V7 and V8 support

· DGN and DWG translation mapping support for levels, lineweight, linetype and color

· DGN files can be used as an underlay

· Import and Export to DGN file format

• Technology

Windows Logo Certification

· Windows XP x32 and x64

· Windows Vista x32 and x64

· Native 64-bit OS support

IPV6

· Compatible with Internet Protocol Version 6

· Next generation version of the internet protocol

· Supersedes IPV4

System Requirements

· For information on system requirements, visit www.autodesk.com/autocad and click
Features & Specifications. Note: AutoCAD will not support Windows 2000

• Licensing

Prior version support

• License file will support running prior AutoCAD version up to 3-releases back.

• Installation

Deployments

· Build 64-bit and 32-bit deployments from a single workstation

• Quality

Customer Involvement Program

· CIP Round tripping

· Email notification to customers for fixes

Performance

· Performance goals based on user feedback and CIP & CER information

Stability

· Stability goals based on user feedback and CIP & CER information

Press Releases:

• Autodesk Introduces Productivity Boosts to AutoCAD Software
• Autodesk Launches New Solutions for Building Information Modeling
• Autodesk Launches 3ds Max 2009 Entertainment Software and Introduces 3ds Max Design 2009 for Design Professionals 

Stay tuned for more information.

Cheers,
Shaan in San Francisco currently

Technorati Tags: Autodesk World Press Day, AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009 code named Raptor, AutoCAD 2009 Preview Guide, AutoCAD User Interface, AutoCAD 2009 Ribbon, Quick Properties, View Cube, SteeringWheel, ShowMotion, Action Recorder, Modeless Layer Manager, Export Layout to Model Space, Geographic Location, Dynamic Xclip, DWFx, DGN V7, DGN V8, AutoCAD DGN, IPV6, Deployments, Customer Involvement Program

In San Francisco, Woohoo Autodesk World Press Day!

I am staying on Nob Hill. I feel a wee bit out of place as the hotels up here are top notch class. The only complaint is my room is next to the convergence of several cable car lines so I am hearing the constant cable whir and then the cable cars coming up and down the hill "ding ding". Luckily they don't run all night especially with the group that went by not too long ago as that seemed to be the party cable car with hooting and hollering "Woohoo here we expletive go,  hold on". I guess it is a small price to pay for the absolute stunning view of the city and a direct view of the Transamerica building.

     So why am I here, well I am here with press/journalist, and Autodesk employees from all corners of the world for the Autodesk World Press Day tomorrow. There should be some exciting things shown and I will try to provide links on this blog as well as my own impressions and experience.

The weather is unseasonable and nice and clear. Ah nice and fitting.

Cheers,
Shaan

Technorati Tags: Autodesk, Autodesk World Press Day, San Francisco, Cable Car

Traveling Today to San Francisco

I have a super busy day today culminating with a flight to San Francisco for an event tomorrow.

I spent yesterday hiking in the local canyons and seen moose, deer, elk, and rocky mountain sheep. I spent an hour watching some local paragliders soaring in the cold air around Lehi Utah.

Cheers,
Shaan

Fun Pipe Fitting Specification

For all those involved in piping here is a fun specification to add to your drawing to see if the shop foreman is really reading your notes. I don't remember the origin of this creative piping humor but I used it back in my piping and vessel design days.

1. All pipe is to be made of a long hole, surrounded by metal centered around the hole.

2. All pipe is to be hollow throughout the entire length.

3. All pipe is to be of the very best quality, preferably tubular or pipular.

4. All acid-proof pipe is to made of acid-proof metal.

5. The O.D. (outside diameter) of the pipe MUST EXCEED the I.D. (inside diameter) otherwise the hole will be on the outside of the pipe.

6. All pipe is to be supplied with nothing inside the hole so water, steam, or other stuff can be put inside the pipe at a later date.

7. All pipe is to be supplied without rust, as this can be more readily put on at the job site.

8. All pipe is to be free of any covering such as mud, tar, barnacles or any form of manure before putting up, otherwise it will make lumps under the paint.

9. All pipe over 500 feet in length must have the words "Long Pipe" clearly painted on each end so the fitter will know it is a long pipe.

10. Pipe over two miles long must also have "Long Pipe" painted in the middle so the fitter will not have to walk the entire length of the pipe to determine if it is a long pipe or not.

11. All pipes over six inches in diameter is to have the words "Large Pipe" painted on so the fitter will not use it for a small pipe.

12. All pipe closures are to be open on one end.

13. All pipe fittings are to be made of the same stuff as the pipe.

14. Pipe specified as "Straight Pipe" shall not have fittings within its length, otherwise it becomes "Crooked Pipe."

AutoCAD Troubleshooting Tip Getting Naked

When chasing/researching a problem with AutoCAD, you want to rule everything else out to make sure it is AutoCAD especially with all the customization methods and file types that can cloud the real source of the issue.

     You accomplish this state of AutoCAD being "naked" by making sure that you have no network connected if possible even the client, no profiles, no customization, no 3rd party AutoCAD applications, clean drawing file from scratch with no blocks or Xrefs, and nothing else running on the desktop not even the seemingly harmless MP3 player or browser. Also reset to a default OOTB "Out of the Box" profile. Now with most of the smoke out of the way you can see if the problem still occurs from scratch steps and the possible solution.

-Shaan

AutoCAD Trivia - Pinetop and a Map

AutoCAD Trivia : In my recent posting For AutoCAD Geeks - Command and System Variables Map and Trivia I mentioned AutoCAD R14.01 was code named Pinetop,  and asked what was this reference to, and why?

Nobody wanted to take a guess...

Answer: The codename Pinetop was based on Pinetop Arizona since AutoCAD R14 was code named Sedona.

Just for fun here is a quick Google Map I put together for code names that I know that referenced geographic locations. Many different industries use code names for unreleased or in progress projects and that is definitely true in the software industry. Autodesk has been using code names of products for 25+ years as in some cases the products name is not even finalized. There is no real scientific method nor is there a designated code name person. The code name is usually the result of a product manager and sometimes they are themes like ski resorts, cars, beers, movies, movie characters, Greek mythology, places, and cities. Currently with over 100 active beta and research projects at http://myfeedback.autodesk.com there are so many code names I cannot remember them all and have to refer to my cheat spreadsheet to know what is what and who.

 

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AutoCAD Express Tool System Variable Editor SYSVDLG

Have you ever wanted to read about a system variables current settings without going to the online Help or how to save and restore system variables on your or another machine? In this quick article I will explain the Express Tool System Variable Editor just to show you what it does.

You must have the AutoCAD Express Tools installed to use this tool.

The System Variable Editor allows you to view, edit and save system variable settings.

Express menu: Tools > System Variable Editor
AutoCAD Command line: SYSVDLG

The dialog shows you the entire list of AutoCAD system variables. You can review and change values and search with filters such as *DIM will show all system variables that start with DIM. The best use of this tool is to save a file with all of your current system variable settings. You can then restore the system variables on this or other machines.

Initial Value Displays the initial value of the system variable highlighted in the list box. This is the value the system variable has in a new drawing.
Saved In Displays where the value of the highlighted system variable is saved.
Type Displays the type of the highlighted system variable; for example, integer, real, or string.

You can save the system variable settings using the Save button and then save to a SVF or even a SCR script that can be ran from the AutoCAD command line. You can save all, filtered, or a selected list (highlighted) of system variables. If you saved the output to a SVF file, you can use the Read button from the System Variable Editor to read in an restore the system variables.

From the System Variable Editor Help:
No changes are saved to the drawing until you choose OK. All pending changes can be discarded with the Cancel button. SYSVDLG will validate new system variable values as they are changed.

Two files, defaults.svf and defaults.scr, are installed in the Express directory along with the System Variable Editor. These files contain AutoCAD's the default system variable settings for a new installation of AutoCAD. To return AutoCAD to a 'pristine' system variable state you can either read the defaults.svf file into SYSVDLG or run the defaults.scr file from the AutoCAD command line using the SCRIPT command. Be aware that this will overwrite any system variable settings in the drawing you are currently editing.

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