Tuesday, June 15, 2004
AutoCAD White Papers Are a Great Resource
The AutoCAD White Papers web page link click here
AutoCAD 2005
AutoCAD 2004
Posted on June 15, 2004 at 10:02 AM in Announcements, AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Autodesk, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks, White Papers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, June 11, 2004
How to Save an R14 DWG from AutoCAD 2004 and 2005 Products
Since AutoCAD 2002 the AutoCAD R14 DWG has not been a built in option. You can still convert your drawings to the R14 format for free.
Can only be used with AutoCAD 2004-based products, AutoCAD 2005-based products, AutoCAD LT 2004, or AutoCAD LT 2005.
Converter converts any AutoCAD® drawing file to AutoCAD® Release 14, AutoCAD® 2000, AutoCAD® 2000i, AutoCAD® 2002, AutoCAD® 2004, and AutoCAD® 2005 file formats. Batch Drawing Converter allows conversion of pen widths to lineweights and the addition of page setups.
Supported Products
AutoCAD® 2004 and later
AutoCAD LT® 2004 and later
Autodesk Map™ 2004 and later
Autodesk® Mechanical Desktop® 2004 and later
Autodesk® Architectural Desktop 2004 and later
AutoCAD® Mechanical 2004 and later
Autodesk® Building Systems 2004 later
Autodesk® Land Desktop 2004 later
http://www.autodesk.com/migrationtools
Posted on June 11, 2004 at 06:04 AM in AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
The New AutoCAD & LT 2005 Bible Coming in July from Ellen Finkelstein
AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005 Bible
Ellen Finkelstein
ISBN: 0-7645-6989-9
What can I say about Ellen. She has been a great person the years that I have known her and she takes a real nice approach to teaching a product and features in her books and her website http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/AutoCAD_tips.html. Ellen also started the tradition of people sending me cookies and others have followed such as Darren Young who sent me about 40 pounds of cookies.
Wiley::AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005 Bible
Now revised and updated for the latest program versions, this bestseller is a comprehensive reference and tutorial for architects, engineers, drafters, and others using the leading computer-assisted design software, AutoCAD, or its "lite" version, AutoCAD LT
- Begins with AutoCAD basics, including the AutoCAD interface and commands, and progresses to complex topics such as programming and customization
- No AutoCAD experience is required to use this book, and a Quick Start guide shows beginning AutoCAD users how to create a technical drawing their very first day
- More than 150 tutorials use drawings collected from AutoCAD pros, giving readers valuable, real-world experience
Includes coverage of AutoCAD LT, the world’s most popular inexpensive 2D technical drawing program - The CD-ROM contains before and after real-world drawings, bonus appendices, freeware and shareware programs, the book in searchable PDF format, and a 30-day trial version of AutoCAD software
Pre order the book at the publishers web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0764569899.html
Posted on June 9, 2004 at 08:51 AM in AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Autodesk, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks, Tutorials | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
New AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 2005 Books Released
Mastering™ AutoCAD® 2005 and AutoCAD LT® 2005
By George Omura
Released June 2004
ISBN: 0-7821-4340-7 | EAN: 9 780782 143409 | UPC: 0252-11-443408
From the publishers website:
The Definitive CAD Resource Updated for 2005 Mastering AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005 is a fully updated edition of Omura's enduring masterpiece. Once again, he delivers the most comprehensive and comprehensible coverage for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT users including information on the Sheet Set Manager, field command, table tool and the software's other productivity enhancers. If you've never used AutoCAD, the tutorial approach and step-by-step instruction will help you get started right away. If you're an AutoCAD veteran, in-depth explanations of AutoCAD's newest and most advanced features will help you become an AutoCAD expert. Whatever your experience, however you use AutoCAD, you’ll refer to this indispensable resource again and again.Coverage includes:
Finding your way around the AutoCAD interface
Creating and developing an AutoCAD drawing
Keeping track of your projects with the new sheet set manager
Importing spreadsheets and editing tables with the new Table tool
Updating text automatically with the new field command
Controlling your drawings' printed output
Discovering hidden features
Mastering the 3D modeling and rendering process
Customizing AutoCAD
Linking drawings to databases and spreadsheets
Managing custom symbols
Securing and authenticating your files
Aligning and coordinating Layout views
Using Publish to share files with non-AutoCAD users
You can pre-order the book now at many online bookstores like Amazon.com Click Here
Another book was released in May
AutoCAD® 2005 and AutoCAD LT® 2005: No Experience Required®
By David Frey
Released May 2004
ISBN: 0-7821-4341-5 | EAN: 9 780782 143416 | UPC: 0252-11-443415
From the publishers website:
The First Choice for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Novices – from the Leading AutoCAD Publisher!
AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005: No Experience Required is your step-by-step introduction to the latest versions of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, the world's leading customizable CAD software. Inside this perfectly paced guide are the clear-cut explanations and practical tutorials that you need to complete even the most elaborate AutoCAD projects.Discover AutoCAD 2005's newest features as you plan and develop a complete project. Follow the tutorials sequentially or begin at any chapter by downloading the drawing files from the Sybex website. Either way, you’ll develop a solid grounding in the essentials and learn how to use AutoCAD's productivity tools to get your work done efficiently.
Gain the Imperative AutoCAD Skills
Find your way around AutoCAD and LT
Understand the basic commands and how to set up a drawing
Apply AutoCAD's coordinate systems
Master drawing strategies
Employ Polar and Object Snap Tracking
Set up and manage layers, colors, and linetypes
Use blocks and Wblocks
Drag AutoCAD objects from one drawing to another
Generate elevations and orthographic views
Work with hatches and fills
Control text in a drawing
Manage external references
Set up layouts and print an AutoCAD drawing
Use AutoCAD's enhanced tool palettes
Create and render a 3D model
Posted on June 8, 2004 at 08:42 AM in Announcements, AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Autodesk, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, June 07, 2004
The New AutoCAD 2005 Layer Manager and Filters
Lee Ambrosius of hyperpics.com and his blog "Beyond the UI" posted a good aticle on using the new AutoCAD 2005 layer dialog.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on June 7, 2004 at 04:30 AM in AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, June 05, 2004
AUGI Customization Corner - June 2004
Great article on Tool Palettes Lee Ambrosius of HyperPics.com.
"With AutoCAD 2005, Autodesk incorporated the Tool Palette Extension for those that were not on subscription and added support for Tables, along with additional improvements like Auxiliary Scale. I will talk about each of these individual tools in this and subsequent articles. "
Posted on June 5, 2004 at 01:53 PM in AUGI, AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks, Tutorials | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, June 04, 2004
The AutoCAD 2005 Easter Egg
The excellent Autodesk product and resource for tips and tricks website CAD Forum has divulged details on the AutoCAD 2005 Easter Egg.
Easter eggs are the practice and long-standing tradition of software developers to add a little something special in the program such as listing team members for the project. Just like the Easter tradition of locating a surprise or a hidden egg also known as the Easter egg hunt. The Easter eggs are hidden and take some work to locate the sequence to activate making it also fun for some to locate and we have had informal contests in locating them in the past. In most cases, at least here at Autodesk the Easter egg development of the Easter egg does not take away from regular development work and the Easter eggs are developed usually in a short time and after hours so they do not effect the scheduled software development. For the last few releases, the Easter eggs have even listed top beta site customers as well.
Link to CAD Forums details on the AutoCAD 2005 Easter Egg Click Here
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on June 4, 2004 at 05:45 AM in AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Inside the Desk, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, May 27, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 - 5 of 5 Stars from Cadalyst Magazine
"All in all, AutoCAD 2005 will be a worthwhile upgrade for most users."
Posted on May 27, 2004 at 08:17 PM in Announcements, AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Autodesk | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Alireza Parsai has an AutoCAD 2005 Seminar in Toronto Tonight!
Alireza will conduct a seminar about new features of AutoCAD 2005 for TRACE local user group in Toronto.
For more details: http://www.trends.ca/~trace/
Posted on May 25, 2004 at 01:48 PM in Announcements, AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Local User Groups, Tutorials | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Great Blog Post by Lee Ambrosius "Don't talk smack... instead give back"
Lee Ambrosius of hyperpics.com and his blog Beyond the UI obviously had taken a large amount of time and thought in order to compose this article. He explains the various ways of reporting and providing feedback to Autodesk.
Link to Article "Don't talk smack... instead give back"
Many will just expect a software company to know about a problem and it will magically be fixed in the next service pack but that is really not based in reality. We need to understand the problem and in many cases to reproduce it in order to determine the appropriate solution. That is why Autodesk has developed the Customer Error Reporting in our products. With the Customer Error Reporting the details if you choose to send them come back to us and we research them. This method is far better than asking a million and one questions of a customer. Also make sure to fill in the details so we can contact you if needed to get further details or a sample file. The Customer Error Reporting helps everyone and is definitely better than doing nothing or the default Windows error reporting which submits to Microsoft, which many applications use but what is Microsoft going to do about a problem with an application that is not theirs, well not much. Just like other businesses we rely on feedback from the customers. So if you find a problem or something you feel should be changed, please let us know.
Helpful Links:
- Your Customer Error Reports Are Very Important
- Autodesk online defect submission system
- Send Feedback Direct to the AutoCAD Team
- Autodesk Usability and Beta Programs
- Between The Lines AutoCAD Wish List
- Spend Your $100 Survey for AutoCAD
Sincerely,
Posted on May 20, 2004 at 09:32 AM in AUGI, AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Autodesk, Beta Info, Helpful Resources, Inside the Desk, Tips–n-Tricks, Web/Tech, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Creating AutoCAD 2004 Tool Palettes and Custom Tools
Ellen Finkelstein (who sends me cookies) wrote an article about creating and customizing Tool Palettes for AutoCAD 2004 awhile back. I thought I would point it out again after receiving a few emails on the subject. The AutoCAD 2004 Tool Palettes extension adds even more abilities and the same abilities are included in AutoCAD 2005.
Cheers,
Shaan
Posted on May 20, 2004 at 01:49 AM in AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks, Tutorials | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Perfect Paper Space, Part 2 by Lynn Allen
Lynn Allen has published her second part of the Perfect Paper Space series. Last month it was part 1 link here and now the latest.
"LAST MONTH WE DIPPED our toes into paper space. This month let's wade deeper into this tricky subject. AutoCAD 2005 relies heavily on paper space layouts to maximize the Sheet Set Manager capabilities, so you'll want to be an expert in this topic."
Link to the article on the Cadalyst website
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on May 18, 2004 at 10:53 AM in AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks, Tutorials | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, May 15, 2004
AutoCAD® 2005 Sheet Set Best Practices White Papers
The following three white papers on AutoCAD® 2005 Sheet Set Best Practices are being posted to the Autodesk web site any day, but you get them here first.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Best Practices Series
Sheet Set Manager:
Introduction to the Series
Lynn Allen, Cadalyst columnist
Wouldn't it be nice if an entire project consisted of just one drawing sheet, which we could simply create, plot, and hand over to our client? Unfortunately, in the real world, our projects consist of multiple drawing sheets: sometimes 10, 50, 100 or over 1,000 drawing files per project. How do most of us keep track of all those drawing files? We use Microsoft® Windows® Explorer.
Best Practices Series - Part 1
Sheet Set Manager:
Organize Your Drawings
Dieter Schlaepfer, Autodesk, Inc.
You may have heard that the new Sheet Set Manager in AutoCAD® 2005 software can manage, publish, and transmit an entire group of project files. But did you know that you can use the Sheet Set Manager simply to organize and access your existing drawings much more effectively?There is almost no effort required, and you do not have to change the way you work!
Best Practices Series Part 2
Sheet Set Manager:
Create a List of Sheets Instantly
Heidi Hewett, Autodesk, Inc.
Most sets of drawings include a cover sheet or title sheet that has a list of all the sheets in the set. This list enables people to find design data throughout the set of drawings, so it must always be accurate. As you add, remove, or reorganize sheets, you continually modify the list of sheets to ensure that it is up to date.In AutoCAD® 2005, you can easily create a sheet list table with data that is extracted directly from the Sheet Set Manager. If you make changes to the sheet set, you can instantly update the sheet list table to reflect the changes.
Posted on May 15, 2004 at 06:19 AM in Announcements, AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks, White Papers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Registration and Activation (Authorization) Codes: How does it work for Subscription?
All products on subscription are pre-registered to the Contract Manager named at the time the Subscription order is processed. When installing your product you will be required to obtain an activation code. When requesting an activation code for product installations and reinstallations, please be sure to have your Serial/Group ID number available (found on your product package).
Group—A subscription contract may contain one or more groups. A company may choose to have several groups. Groups can be used to organize a subscription contract in different ways—for example, by product, office location, or department. Groups may also be organized by deployment—one group with stand-alone versions of a product and another group with a network version. (It is not possible to combine stand-alone and network versions in the same group). Each group is assigned a Software Coordinator. All products within a group share the same serial, or Group ID, number.
Group ID Number— A group ID is the unique numerical identifier that is part of the overall group name. It is derived from the serial number used to validate the first subscription put into the group. Each product added to that group subsequently assumes the group number when upgrades are shipped.
Note: The contract number for the company is derived from the first group put on the contract.
A group name can be any 20 alphanumeric characters, designated by the Contract Manager, to provide a unique label for a group.
Example:
Group ID: 339-11235813 San Rafael
The Group ID should be used when requesting an activation code for any products shipped under subscription. The Group ID is referenced on the product package as Serial/Group ID.
IMPORTANT: Autodesk software may be installed as a network, stand-alone, or multiseat stand-alone deployment. There are some variations to the process that depend on the type of installation you have:
For more information on subscritipon, please go to http://www.autodesk.com/subscription
Posted on May 13, 2004 at 04:49 PM in Announcements, AutoCAD 2005, Autodesk Subscription, Helpful Resources | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, May 10, 2004
Quick Article on Design Document Communication with DWF
I just wanted to write a short article on using DWF and a workflow with markup. The DWF format is very small compared to PDF and other formats for transmitting to others. You can also use the free Autodesk DWF Writer 2 to publish from other applications such as Bentley MicroStation, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel or most any other application that can use a Windows System printer driver. You can publish in one click the entire Sheet Set in AutoCAD 2005 to DWF or a plotter. You can view DWF using the free Autodesk DWF Viewer or the $99 Autodesk DWF Composer as I show in this tutorial. The DWF is a open format and anyone can use the available DWF 6 Toolkit to write or view them.
In AutoCAD 2005 you can use the Sheet Set Manager to publish your entire Sheet Set in one click to a multi-sheet DWF.
You can use the free Autodesk DWF Writer 2 to publish a drawing sheet from Bentley MicroStation just as I did in the above image.
I simply dragged and dropped the DWF produced from the free Autodesk DWF Writer 2 into my multi-sheet DWF. I was also able to mark up (redline) the DWF in Autodesk DWF Composer which is only $99 or $49 to upgrade from the Volo View 2. You could also just view the resulting DWF files with the free Autodesk DWF Viewer but this does not have measure, mark-up and DWG viewing like Autodesk DWF Composer.
In this image you can see I can even mark-up the Bentley MicroStation produced DWF and even snap to the geometry for measurements or comments in the Autodesk DWF Composer.
Here you can see my mark up comments in a sheet in the multi-sheet DWF file on the sheet created from Bentley MicroStation. I can even indicate the markup status.
You can see the mark-up on an AutoCAD 2005 sheet in the DWF I can call out the question for another person. I can change the mark-up with snaps. After I make the mark up I can then send it back to the person with AutoCAD 2005 who created or who has the Sheet Set in AutoCAD 2005.
Using the Markup Set Manager in AutoCAD 2005, I can import the mark up and automatically navigate in the sheet set to the areas with the mark-up. I can also indicate the comments have been resolved and republish with the revisions.
I can even use the free Autodesk DWF Writer to publish Microsoft Word or Excel files to supplement the sheets or as a reference. I can even drag and drop raster images into the DWF such as a rendering or site photo. Best thing is that the documents when in the DWF format are not as easy to copy the data out to another document like a PDF and many do not want reviewers to get the data out. I can even have the reviewers indicate their mark-ups on the other documents in the DWF such as marking up the spreadsheet or the Bentley MicroStation sheet with my comment for the MicroStation user to “buy AutoCAD 2005" ;-) .
Helpful Links Relevant to this Tutorial
http://www.autodesk.com/dwf
http://www.autodesk.com/dwfcomposer
http://www.autodesk.com/dwfviewer
http://www.autodesk.com/autocad
http://www.autodesk.com/gofurther
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on May 10, 2004 at 01:06 PM in AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, DWF it, Tips–n-Tricks, Tutorials | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Saturday, May 08, 2004
AutoCAD Express Tools Tutorial from http://www.cadtutor.net
Some AutoCAD Express Tools are covered in Michael's online article:
You really should consider subscribing to his newsletter ‘The AutoCAD Toolbelt’.
Posted on May 8, 2004 at 12:07 PM in AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks, Tutorials | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, May 07, 2004
Edge Panning with AutoCAD
We added a little known feature in AutoCAD 2004 which is also in AutoCAD 2005. I figured I would explain this after reading a post in a newsgroup with a customer trying to figure out this discovery. You must have AutoCAD 2004 or higher installed and on Microsoft Windows 2000/XP. Edge panning is when you are panning the display by mouse in the AutoCAD window, and then you reach the edge of the maximized AutoCAD window and the display pans while you continue to move the mouse towards the edge. Pretty cool, give it a try. It comes in pretty handy when in large drawings as you do not have to reposition your mouse to be able to pan more of the drawing.
Click on the GIF image to see a larger Animated GIF of the difference from AutoCAD 2002 without Edge Panning and AutoCAD 2005 with Edge Panning.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on May 7, 2004 at 08:33 PM in AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
DWF Precision Follow Up
This is a follow up to the DWF Precision article by Brian Mathews of the DWF Team Link to Article
By default, DWFs are plotted from AutoCAD at 400 DPI—but this is far below the limit for DWF (up to 60 million DPI!). In fact, as Brian’s article points out, with the resolution that DWF supports, “DWF can measure the continental USA with a precision of +/- 2.4 millimeters when using the maximum DPI and paper size settings.”
To change the resolution (DPI) at which DWFs are published in AutoCAD based products:
- Select the “DWF 6 ePlot” driver in the AutoCAD Plot dialog
- Select Properties
- Select the Custom Properties icon (in the Device and Document Settings tab)
- Select the Custom Properties button
- Change the vector resolution—e.g., to 1200 or 2400 DPI
- Select OK
- Select OK
- Optionally save the changes to a different pc3 configuration file—e.g. with a 2400dpi suffix
- Select an output filename
- Select OK to plot to DWF
You could also just select ‘Custom’ in the dropdown list to set the resolution higher than 2400 DPI
For comparison I plotted a DWF and a PDF both at 2400 DPI:
DWF File Size on disk = 1.00 MB
PDF File Size on Disk = 5.23 MB
After opening the DWF in DWF Composer ($99) and taking a measurement with snaps and grabbing the geometry, I can see the section of interest is reported as 958' 8.94". Of course I could also just view the DWF in the free viewer. With DWF Composer I get redline markup, measurements, snaps, round trip the markup back to AutoCAD 2005 based products, and also a DWG viewer.
Checking the same section of interest in Adobe Acrobat Pro 6 (~$600), I had no real intuitive snaps and the distance was 8.11". I guess this is a miniature city ;-). "PDF: the right choice for itsy-bitsy cities and large hard drives".
With a higher DWF DPI setting, the advantages in terms of precision in the DWF files should become very clear when comparing DWF vs. PDF.
While 2400 DPI is sufficient for most needs, those using maps and GIS may need a higher DPI. AutoCAD allows for a Custom setting increasiong the DPI up to 60 million DPI.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on May 5, 2004 at 04:58 AM in AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, DWF it, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
AUGI Customization Corner - May 2004
Autodesk User Group International has posted a nice article of tips on AutoCAD Switches written by and AutoCAD Guru and also one of the most experienced and feedback providing AutoCAD customers Lee Ambrosius.
Lee also has a blog for many great tips on AutoCAD titled "Beyond the UI".
http://hyperpics.blogs.com/beyond_the_ui/
"Last month, I finished the second installment of using and creating scripts for use with AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. Here, I’ll turn the attention from customizing inside of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT to the desktop shortcut. There are many options to get AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT start up. You have seen one of these options or switches in the previous articles about scripts. That switch was the /b switch, which allowed for the loading of a script when the desktop shortcut was used. This article investigates the many other switches available to you." Read More
Posted on May 4, 2004 at 09:40 AM in AUGI, AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Great User Group Meeting
It was nice meeting the 38+ people in attendance last night at the San Francisco AutoCAD Users Group to see the presentation of AutoCAD 2005 by Shawn Gilmour of Autodesk. Congratulations to the winners of the drawings for the AutoCAD 2005 and the books. I have placed a few photos from the meeting in my daily grind photoblog.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on May 4, 2004 at 08:39 AM in AutoCAD 2005, Autodesk, Local User Groups | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, April 30, 2004
White Paper: Best Practices for AutoCAD Migration
I have posted here the white paper "Best Practices for AutoCAD Migration" because a couple have had issues when downloading it from the Autodesk FTP server. This white paper covers many of the best practices to follow in order to make migrations much more easy.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 30, 2004 at 07:36 AM in AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks, White Papers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Local AutoCAD Users Group Meeting Notice - San Francisco AutoCAD Users Group (SFAUG)
The next SFAUG meeting will take place on Monday, May 3rd and will be dedicated to AutoCAD. Shawn Gilmour from Autodesk will present the new release AutoCAD 2005.
Doorprizes
Time and place:
May 3rd, 6-8pm.
SFSU Downtown Center
425 Market Street, room 2601/2602
More Information on SFAUG see http://www.sfaug.org/
I will be there along with a few other Autodeskers to assist and answer any questions people may have. Please introduce yourself to me as I always enjoy meeting local users of Autodesk products and understanding how they use our products.
Don’t miss it.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 29, 2004 at 10:23 AM in Announcements, AutoCAD 2005, Autodesk, Helpful Resources, Local User Groups, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Background Mask Tools for AutoCAD 2005 by Lee Ambrosius
Lee Ambrosius has written some tools to work with the new AutoCAD 2005 feature Background Masking and posted beta versions on his AutoCAD related blog "Beyond the UI". Lee is a wealth of information and tools for AutoCAD.
LInk to Lee's post with the download of the tools:http://hyperpics.blogs.com/beyond_the_ui/2004/04/background_mask_1.html
The tools:
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 27, 2004 at 09:56 AM in AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AutoCAD 2005 Updated Migration Tools Released
The Autodesk web site has now been updated with the updated AutoCAD Migration Tools. There is also a migration best practices document.
Import your menus, toolbar items, and keyboard shortcuts (accelerators) from previous versions of AutoCAD into AutoCAD 2005.
Convert any AutoCAD or AutoCAD-based drawing file to AutoCAD Release 14, AutoCAD 2000, AutoCAD 2000i, AutoCAD 2002, AutoCAD 2004, and AutoCAD 2005 file formats.
Convert your customized menus, files, command aliases, and layer states, and script with greater ease.
Tools includedThe following four tools are included in the Autodesk Customization Conversion Tools download:
1. AutoLISP Compatibility Analyzer details AutoCAD® 2004 and AutoCAD® 2005 compatibility issues found in AutoLISP and Menu LISP files. AutoLISP Compatibility Analyzer searches for known AutoCAD 2004 and AutoCAD 2005 compatibility issues. When an issue is found, an explanation of the compatibility issue and suggestions on how to correct it are provided.
2. Command Alias (PGP) Porter designed to help you bring your custom command aliases from previous versions of AutoCAD into AutoCAD 2004 or AutoCAD 2005. You can also use this tool to add, replace, or remove command aliases from any AutoCAD PGP file.
3. ScriptPro takes AutoCAD scripting to a new level with an easy-to-use interface, logging, reusable project files, enhanced scripting with new keywords and utilities, and robust error recovery. Using ScriptPro you can apply a set of commands to multiple drawings by simply specifying a script file and the list of drawings that you would like to apply the script to.
4. Layer State Converter allows you to convert between the layer states created by LMAN (one of the AutoCAD® Express Tools) and the saved layer states introduced in AutoCAD® 2000i software. To use Layer State Converter, type one of the following commands on the AutoCAD command line:
CONVERTLS - Converts AutoCAD layer states to LMAN layer states.
CONVERTLMAN - Converts LMAN layer states to AutoCAD layer states.
Posted on April 27, 2004 at 06:28 AM in Announcements, AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Monday, April 26, 2004
DotSoft ToolPac 8.0 for AutoCAD
Terry over at Dotsoft has done it once again with Toolpac 8.0 for AutoCAD. He has packed over 675 tools to increase productivity in AutoCAD into his new release of the popular ToolPac 8.0 for AutoCAD.
For more info see the ToolPac website:
http://www.dotsoft.com/toolpac.htm
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 26, 2004 at 01:06 PM in AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Alireza Parsai of cadpanel.com and AutoCAD 2005 Table Tutorial
Tutorial on the new AutoCAD 2005 feature, Tables.
by Alireza Parsai of http://www.cadpanel.com/
Click the following link to view the tutorial
http://www.cadpanel.com/trainees/2005tables/040425tables2005.htm
Thanks Alireza for all of your great tutorials available on your web site and caddigest.com.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 26, 2004 at 09:17 AM in AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks, Tutorials | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
AutoCAD Electrical 2005 eBeta Enrollment Open
To enroll to be considered for this eBeta opportunity go to:
http://betaprograms.autodesk.com/betaweb.htm then follow the instructions especially the code name.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 20, 2004 at 01:41 PM in Announcements, AutoCAD 2005, Beta Info | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
DWFit Hyperlink Style!!
From Mark Douglas MKM & Associates
"MKM is excited about the power DWF will bring to its office. We look forward to the day when we can jetison PDF and use DWF exclusively for many great reasons. Here's just one....
Open the below DWF file in the free Autodesk DWF Viewer. It will open directly to a Plan sheet. Here you will see there are Detail bubbles. If you CTRL-Click the Detail bubble it will HYPERLINK you RIGHT to that detail Number on another Sheet. Using Autodesk DWF Composer has cut our Back check times in Half!! This was sooo easy with a little Lisp code and Robert/Myself's brain power. Plus has some cool AutoCAD tables in it."
"LISP Used to link the detail bubbles to the hyperlinked details: Here is a explanation on what it does and how it works for our Company. We typically name our drawings. Job Number first then the Sheet name. So it looks like this.....040001S1. 040001S2..and so on. Well the code strips out the information from the DWGNAME variable and makes. 040001 & S1. Then takes the Number from the detail Bubble. Say S2. Then Puts them together. 040001S2. Then creates a hyperlink to the drawing. Using Misha's Convert Hyperlink to DWF then you're all set. here is the Code I use. It originated from some other code, then modified to fit our needs.The Bottom part of the Code after the Hyperlink part is from Misha, A little too complicated for me. But works!!"
Posted on April 20, 2004 at 11:23 AM in AutoCAD 2005, DWF it, Tips–n-Tricks, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Perfect Paper Space, Part 1 by Lynn Allen - Cadalyst
"EVEN AFTER 12 YEARS, the most frequently requested articles are those on paper space. So, after many moons (and many pleas from readers), it's time to dust off these tips and update them to reflect the new features in AutoCAD 2005.
A great deal of confusion still surrounds paper space, as evidenced by the extremely large turnout at Autodesk University for the "Lost in Paper Space" class (perfectly taught by Dan Abbott). There are also many different theories regarding the proper route to perfect paper space. I'll attempt to present the pros and cons of all sides and let you decide what works best for you."
Link to the Entire Article on Cadalyst Magazines Web Site
Posted on April 15, 2004 at 11:52 AM in AutoCAD 2005, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Information by AutoCAD Bible Book Author Ellen Finkelstein
Check out the updated information from Ellen Finkelstein on AutoCAD 2005 at her website. Ellen is the author of the very popular AutoCAD Bible books.
Features Shown:
Tables
Fields
Sheet Sets
Command tool palettes
Layer groups and descriptions
Text background masks
Trimming hatches and hatching almost closed areas
Plotting in the background
ZOOM Object option
New COPY command default
http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/autoCAD.html
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 14, 2004 at 05:25 PM in AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Give AutoCAD® 2005 a Try, For Free!
You can order a free AutoCAD® 2005 Trial CD-ROM or a run the fully operational online AutoCAD® 2005 streaming trial.
AutoCAD® 2005 30-Day Trial CD
(This offer is valid only in the United States and Canada. For countries outside the United States and Canada, contact your local Autodesk Authorized Reseller)
Link to Order Form
AutoCAD® 2005 Streaming Trial
(Stream a full version of AutoCAD® to your desktop for 30 consecutive days at no cost. Create, view, save, and plot your own files and fully experience exactly how AutoCAD software operates in your work environment.)
Link to Streaming Trial
Make sure to have a look at the documentation to see what some of the new features are.
Link to Features Documents
Comparing AutoCAD 2005 with Previous Releases PDF White Paper
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 13, 2004 at 08:22 AM in AutoCAD 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Sunday, April 11, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Tool Palette Trick - Insert Block using LTSCALE
From Misha (Misha Belilovskiy) of Autodesk who posted this trick in a reply to a discussion thread in the public Autodesk discussion group for AutoCAD 2005.
You can't do it using AutoCAD UI but it is possible if you are not afraid editing your Tool Palette source ATC file. Here is how you do it.
If you would like to replace Auxiliary scale in tool properties (for instance with LTSCALE) you can do the following:
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 11, 2004 at 06:43 PM in AutoCAD 2005, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Friday, April 09, 2004
HIDE in AutoCAD® and Architectural Desktop 2004 - 2005 Article by archidigm.com
Nice online article showing the HIDE command options and results.
Also check out the site http://www.archidigm.com
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 9, 2004 at 05:19 AM in Architectural Desktop, AutoCAD 2005, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Combining Autodesk Network Licenses
Are you aware that you can combine multiple network licenses into one license? If you have a mix of network licensed products, you can combine them into a single license file for running a mix of licensed products or releases.
This could also be the products you upgraded in Autodesk Subscription program. Then when you roll out the new version you could continue to use the prior release until all your users have migrated or moved to a new project to start the new release.
Knowledge Base Article from http://support.autodesk.com
Link to Knowlege Base Article
http://support.autodesk.com/getDoc.asp?id=TS65928
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 8, 2004 at 12:51 PM in Architectural Desktop, AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Autodesk, Autodesk Subscription, Helpful Resources, Tips–n-Tricks | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Custom Background Mask command for Mtext by Lee Ambrosius of hyperpics.com
As a true AutoCAD master, Lee wrote and shared a quick LISP for the new AutoCAD 2005 feature Background Mask.
Link to Lee's article with a LISP file
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 8, 2004 at 07:00 AM in AutoCAD 2005, Tips–n-Tricks, Tutorials | Permalink | TrackBack
Thursday, April 01, 2004
UK Architecture Firm Specializing in Timber Framing Using ADT
Chris Yanchar wrote a very nice blog article on Timber Framing and ADT. It is always amazing to see what our customers do with our products and their success.
If you have an exciting or interesting use of our products or the products you design using our products, send me an email at shaan@autodesk.com with the subject line of "Blog" and the details and I will spotlight it in this far reaching blog with thousands of unique readers per day. This is the most active CAD/Autodesk related blog currently on the web.
Here are some screenshots (click thumbnail for larger image):
The Link to the Blog "Between the Walls" article
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on April 1, 2004 at 09:20 AM in Announcements, Architectural Desktop, AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2005, Autodesk, Helpful Resources | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Tutorial: Interoperability Between AutoCAD 2005 and Architectural Desktop 2005
Chris Yanchar has written a nice tutorial on the interoperability between AutoCAD 2005 and Architectural Desktop 2005 on his blog "Between the Walls".
"With the new ability for AutoCAD 2005 to natively read in ADT drawings, I thought a short tutorial about the advantages of collaborating with consultants with native ADT drawings versus exploding to 2D would be helpful. Also discussed is the basic interoperability between the ADT Project Navigator and the AutoCAD Sheet Set Manager."
Link to Article: Click Here
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on March 30, 2004 at 12:37 PM in AutoCAD 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AutoCAD 2005 Online Streaming Trial is now live
Stream AutoCAD® 2005 directly to your desktop for 30 consecutive days at no cost. The trial currently available is a fully functional version of AutoCAD 2005—including the ability to create, view, save, and plot your own files. This trial is available only in the United States and Canada.
Before initiating your trial, please read the recommended system requirements. Since the initial activation for the trial requires a download of 10–15 MB (depending on system configuration), we recommend this trial for users with high-speed Internet connections.* Please note that activation time will decrease after first use, while overall speed and performance will increase with greater use.
Register for the streaming tri