Between the Lines

New AutoCAD Subscription Bonus Packs Available for PDF and 3D Printing

The second and third in a series of new feature AutoCAD Subscription Bonus Packs are being released to the Autodesk Subscription website.

If you install all three Subscription Bonus Packs your Subscription toolbar in AutoCAD 2009 will appear like the below.

 

AutoCAD 2009 Subscription Bonus Pack 1 Released in June 2008

The first AutoCAD 2009 Subscription Bonus Pack provides many useful AUGI (Autodesk User Group International) functionality requests, including:

• You can measure the distance, radius, angle, area, and volume of selected objects or a sequence of points.
• SPLINE to PLINE
• Reverse PLINE edit
• Rotating viewport and have the view rotate with the viewport
• Erase unreferenced unnamed objects including PURGE 0-length objects like blank spaces in text etc.

New AutoCAD Subscription Bonus Packs:

Bonus Pack 2 the PDF Bonus Pack.

 
AutoCAD 2009 Subscription Bonus Pack 2 delivers exciting new PDF enhancements.

PDF Underlays
Now you can import PDF files, attaching them as PDF underlays. Once you attach a PDF underlay, you can use a variety of tools to snap to lines and objects, control the display of layers, move, scale, rotate, and clip the PDF underlay.

PDF Output
Key improvements have been made for publishing PDF files. File sizes have been reduced, making it easier to share designs. TrueType font support has been added, giving you control over precisely how your fonts are displayed.

Bonus Pack 3 the 3D Printing Bonus Pack.

The ability to prepare and print a 3D model to an online service and get back a 3D print of the model. I have produced several of these as have other customers and employees. From 3D architectural plans to mechanical parts.

 

I even printed the laser scanned model of the infamous Matt Murphy Clay Head Sculpture to preserve it from further damage during its travels around the world including both China and Japan over the past 2 weeks. I hope to retire it at AU in Vegas soon.

Since they were just released after beta testing at http://myfeedback.autodesk.com it may take a few days for them to appear on the Autodesk Subscription website.

AutoCAD 2009 Subscription Bonus Packs can only be applied to following products:

• AutoCAD 2009
• AutoCAD Revit^® Architecture Suite 2009
• AutoCAD Revit Structure Suite 2009

Note for Subscription Customers: My coworker and good friend and former Express Tools developer as well as other AutoCAD programming Tom Stoeckel has a new blog only for Autodesk Subscription customers named “Stoeckel on Subs”. You can get to the Bonus Packs and Tom Stoeckel’s blog from the front page on the Autodesk Subscription website.

Cheers,
Shaan

14 November 2008 New Feature Releases for Autodesk Subscription Customers

On November 14th 2008, Autodesk Subscription members, as part of their benefits, can download the following new feature releases:

Listed in alphabetical order by product

AutoCAD 2009

• AutoCAD 2009 Bonus Subscription Bonus Pack 2 — PDF Enhancements  - English
• AutoCAD 2009: Transitioning from AutoCAD 2008 e-Learning – French, Italian, German, Latin American Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese

AutoCAD Architecture 2009

• German Content Library for AutoCAD Architecture 2009 - (Available in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland only) – German

AutoCAD Civil 2009

• AutoCAD Civil 2009 e-Learning - English

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009

• Subassemblies for AutoCAD Civil and Civil 3D 2009 – French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish

AutoCAD LT 2009

• AutoCAD LT 2009: Transitioning from AutoCAD LT 2008 to AutoCAD 2009 e-Learning  - Japanese

AutoCAD MEP 2009

• Russian Content Extension for AutoCAD MEP 2009 - Russian

Autodesk 3ds Max 2009

• Autodesk 3ds Max 2009: Particles and Effects > Fluid Effects Downloadable DVD - English

· Autodesk 3dsMax 2009: Animation and Rigging > Exploiting Proceduralism Downloadable DVD- English

· Autodesk 3dsMax 2009: Scripting > Scripting a Base Plug-in (Part III) Video Podcast- English

Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009

• Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009: Particles and Effects > Fluid Effects Downloadable DVD- English
• Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009: Animation and Rigging > Exploiting Proceduralism Downloadable DVD- English
• Autodesk 3dsMax Design 2009: Scripting > Scripting a Base Plug-in (Part III)  Video Podcast- English

Autodesk Inventor 2009

• Autodesk Inventor 2009 Subscription Bonus Pack – French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean
• Autodesk Inventor 2009: Essentials Parts 1 & 2 e-Learning – French, Italian, Latin American Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian

Autodesk Maya 2008 and Autodesk Maya 2009

• Autodesk Maya 2008: Rigging and Animation > A Tribute to Attributes Video Podcast- English
• Autodesk Maya 2008: Rigging and Animation > Arm Rigging (Part II &III & IV) Video Podcast- English
• Autodesk Maya 2008: Modeling > Model & Sculpt a Hand (Part III & IV) Video Podcast- English
• Autodesk Maya 2008: Dynamics > Trouble Shooting Dynamics Video Podcast- English
• Autodesk Maya 2008: Scripting > API and Game Development Part III Video Podcast- English
• Autodesk Maya 2009: Dynamics > Compositing with Fluids (Podcast) – English
• Autodesk Maya 2009: Scripting > Taking Maya out of Context (Podcast) – English
• Autodesk Maya 2009: Version Readiness Video Podcast - English

Autodesk MotionBuilder

• Autodesk MotionBuilder: Advanced Facial Rigging Downloadable DVD – English, Korean

Autodesk NavisWorks 2009

• 2004 DWG Object Enabler Extension for Autodesk NavisWorks 2009.1 software – English
• Autodesk NavisWorks 2009 Review: Project Review e-learning – English
• Autodesk NavisWorks 2009 Simulate: Animate, 4D Simulations and Project Presentations e-Learning  - English
• Autodesk NavisWorks 2009 Manage: Effective Project 3D Coordination and Analysis e-Learning  - English

Autodesk® Robot™ Structural Analysis 2009

• Robot Extensions for Autodesk® Robot™ Structural Analysis 2009 software – French, Spanish, Russian, Polish

Revit 2009

• Revit Extensions for Revit Architecture 2009 64-bit – French, Italian, German, Simplified Chinese, Polish
• Revit Extensions for Revit MEP 2009 – Simplified Chinese
• Revit Extensions for Revit Structure 2009 64-bit – French, Italian, German, Simplified Chinese, Polish
• Revit Architecture 2009 64-bit – Traditional Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish
• Revit MEP 2009 64-bit  - Japanese, Simplified Chinese
• Revit Structure 2009 64-bit – Russian, Polish
• Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009 - Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish
• Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009  - Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish
• German Content Library for Revit Architecture 2009 – (Available in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland only) – German
• Austrian Content Library for Revit Architecture 2009 – (Available in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland only) – German

Cheers,
Shaan (experiencing bad jetlag)

First Day of Autodesk University China 08

Yesterday was an action packed day of presentations for Autodesk University China 08. It started with some Chinese acrobats and dancers arranging the letters on stage to create Autodesk.

There were many senior executive speakers such as Autodesk’s CEO Carl Bass, Autodesk CTO Jeff Kowalski, Autodesk VP Senior Vice President, Platform Solutions and Emerging Business Amar Hanspal, as well as many Autodesk Autodesk Asia and China executives such as Autodesk Senior Vice President Patrick Williams, Autodesk Global Vice President Huang Jianming, and Vice President of Greater China Aldous Wong.

Autodesk CEO Carl Bass spoke on a wide range of topics including Autodesk and also the global challenges with global warming, resources, and how innovative design can be a critical part of solving these challenges. He also spoke about Autodesk’s commitment to China.

 

Autodesk CTO Jeff Kowalski spoke about technology and innovation in design and how technology can now make things appear truly real as well as how you can experience design before it is real.

 

 

Autodesk VP Senior Vice President Amar Hanspal’s presentation was about my teams products like AutoCAD and the innovation, and how it is critical in the design process. He also spoke about our partner developers building upon AutoCAD, and an Autodesk product to capture existing designs. He is an incredibly inspiring and passionate speaker.

The presentation by Autodesk Global Vice President Huang Jianming was about the 1500 Autodesk employees in China Autodesk China Research & Development (ACRD). This presentation was detailed about all the products they work on and their highly educated backgrounds.

 

Autodesk Senior Vice President Patrick Williams gave a presentation of Autodesk’s footprint in China and described the projects they are involved in. Projects include some of the worlds largest projects as well as a humanitarian project like the Sichuan province earthquake.

 

Later there were experts from many fields such as well known architect 谢英俊 who spoke about efforts to rebuild the earthquake-stricken areas in China's rural Sichuan province using sustainable design and construction methods.

 

 

Bruce Beasley was a special guest an spoke about his digital sculpture exhibition and how he involves science and technology such as 3D printing in his sculpture processes.

Several other Autodesk Senior Vice Presidents spoke at industry sessions such as Buzz Kross and Jay Bhatt.

For anyone wishing to get involved in providing Usability on Autodesk products here in China. Autodesk Chinas own Product Design Manager Itamar Lima Medeiros provided me with the Chinese text detailing getting involved.

欢迎参加用户可用性测试！

什么是可用性测试？

为了测试我们的软件产品是否合乎您的需求，我们想邀请您亲临现场，试用我们的产品。观察员会记录下您在操作时所碰到的问题，聆听您的意见，之后将记录反馈给产品设计人员。您所试用的产品可能尚未定型，也可能处于后期成品测试阶段。无论哪一种情况，您的意见都将影响我们产品的未来！

加入我们！欢迎到我们的AU展台来与接待人员洽谈！

I was not able to attend all sessions as I had to rush back to my hotel across town to work more on my presentations Thursday morning. I learned a great deal about Autodesk China and China. I have so many photos to process and post but wont have much opportunity until the weekend.I am posting them to my Flickr site in the Autodesk University China 08 collection.

 Autodesk University China 2008

I still have a really bad case of jetlag waking me up at 4AM each day. It is 4:49AM currently in Shanghai China.

Best Regards,
Shaan

Ni hao, I am in Shanghai China for Autodesk University China 08

“Ni hao” “” means Hello in Chinese.  I arrived last night after a long flight and am trying to adjust but was wide awake this morning at 4:30AM about 1PM the prior day my time back in the US. What a long last seven days as I was just in the Middle East just 6 days ago. Yesterdays flight from San Francisco went up over Alaska then down over Russia's Kamchatka peninsula, Siberia, Northern Korea, and then China.

Today I am going to have a look around Shanghai China and then rehearse for my presentations this week at Autodesk University China 08. I have to find a way to trim my presentations down to an hour and also take into account the reduction in time due to translation. I feel a “Lost in Translation” moment coming on.

On Saturday I head for Yokohama Japan to prepare for Autodesk University Japan 08. I should have some great photos throughout the trip, and yes the Matt Murphy Clay Head Sculpture made it safe and sound to China. My good friend and fellow desker Lynn Allen arrives today.

Cheers,
Shaan

AutoCAD Resource Center

A relatively new resource is available for those wishing to find out more about AutoCAD. The AutoCAD Resource Center is now live and there is a bunch of great information including tutorials, tips and tricks,customer stories.
Check it out!  http://resources.autodesk.com/autocad/

I have only recently this week returned from a speaking trip to Turkey and Kuwait, and now I am repacking my luggage for speaking engagements at Autodesk University China 08 and Autodesk University Japan 08. I depart Sunday morning bright and early for Shanghai China.

Cheers,
Shaan

Lazy Drafter – Is not Really Lazy

Josh Jones has a blog that I read in my RSS feeds named Lazy Drafter “AutoCAD tips for the lazy drafter.”. He writes often about how to make things easier with Autodesk products like AutoCAD.

He is not really lazy, just really smart.

Today’s post is about the “Wicked Cool” and also FREE Autodesk Design Review and the ability to compare changes between two DWF files. In case some were not aware, there is also an Autodesk blog by Autodesk “desker” Volker Joseph about DWF and Autodesk Design Review named Beyond the Paper.

Lazy Drafter Post:
Compare Design Changes in Autodesk Design Review

Thanks Josh for the treat, and Happy Halloween

Shaan

Are you Attending AU 2008, Get Certified on Autodesk Products Free

Are you certifiable?
This year at AU 2008 the Autodesk Product Certification exams are FREE. Just pick up one or more vouchers at the Autodesk Education & Learning booth in the AU 2008 Exhibit Hall. It is first come, first served due to limited space so make a direct and fast line for the Autodesk Education & Learning booth when the Exhibit Hall first opens.

AutoCAD

AutoCAD Architecture

AutoCAD Civil 3D

Autodesk Inventor

Revit Architecture

Autodesk University 2008 Certification-related activities include the following:

• Onsite Testing – AutoCAD®, AutoCAD® Architecture, Autodesk® Inventor®, Revit® Architecture, and AutoCAD® Civil 3D® software. Exams available on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Certification Preparation Classes – Classes designed to help you pass the AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor 2009 Associate and Professional Certification exams.
• Academic Certification Class – Educators should be sure to attend Academic Certification: Give Your Students a Head Start in their Design Careers to learn more about offering their students Autodesk Professional Certification at affordable academic pricing.
• Professional Certification Class – Want to hear what it’s all about? For an overview of the new 2009 program, attend Getting Certified: Get the Recognition and Rewards You Deserve.
• Autodesk Bookstore – The spot to purchase Certification preparation materials from Autodesk Learning. In the Exhibit Hall.

More Details: http://au.autodesk.com/event/campusclass/certification/

This is one more reason and benefit why attending AU 2008 is cost effective and a great way to be more productive and network with the best in the world. You can also show your experience and knowledge in a official certification when you return back home to your office.

Cheers,
Shaan

Have a Buddy, Bring Them to Autodesk University 2008

There is a new AU 2008 Buddy Pass: “Economic Stimulus” for New Registrants where you can bring a buddy for discounted price. The first 100 on November 5th get their buddy into AU 2008 for four days free the rest get a discounted rate. See site for specific details.

http://au.autodesk.com/event/buddypass/

I just got back from a great trip to Turkey and Kuwait yesterday afternoon after over 24 hours of travel, so far, no jet lag knock on LCD. I will be home for a few days then Sunday take off for Autodesk University China 08 and Autodesk University Japan 08 where I have presentations and customer visits. I am so tired of planes, but meeting new people and seeing new places makes it all worthwhile.

Cheers,
Shaan

Now in Kuwait for Meetings and Presentations

Today I meet with multiple Autodesk customers in Kuwait. To say it should be a very interesting and educational day might be an understatement.

Tomorrow I am presenting much of the day to many Autodesk and AutoCAD users that are members of the FOCUS Kuwait users group.

I am still amazed at how long the user group members waited for me to clear customs in the Kuwait airport, over 2 hours and they were still smiling when I emerged.

 

 

 

Kuwait is very hot and humid even at this time of the year. The humidity feels like 200% (not really but feels like it) and the temperature is above 31c. I did happen to notice the blue striped water towers on the way to my hotel and must go see those for photos tonight or tomorrow night. My hotel room looks down the waterfront and the city towards many famous landmarks as well as new construction underway. I am trying to learn some Arabic words but that is pretty difficult but I am trying.

Cheers,
Shaan

6 October 2008 New Feature Releases for Autodesk Subscription Customers

On October 6, 2008, Autodesk Subscription members, as part of their benefits, can download the following new feature releases including the new 64-bit versions of Autodesk Revit, Autodesk® Inventor® 2009 Subscription Bonus Pack, training as well as local language training content, and the 64-bit DWG Reader for Autodesk NavisWorks 2009:

• AutoCAD 2009
• Transitioning from AutoCAD 2008 - Simplified Chinese
• AutoCAD Architecture 2009
• Erweiterung für AutoCAD^® Architecture  - German Only
• AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite 2009
• Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
• Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009  - English, French, Japanese
• Globe Link for Revit 2009
• Revit Architecture 2009 64-bit
• Swedish Content Library for Revit Architecture 2009– Swedish only
• AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite 2009
• Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
• Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009
• Globe Link for Revit 2009
• Revit MEP 2009 64-bit
• Swedish Content Library for Revit Architecture 2009 – Swedish only
• AutoCAD Revit Structure Suite 2009
• Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
• Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009  - English, French, Japanese
• Globe Link for Revit 2009
• Revit Structure 2009 64-bit
• AutoCAD Structural Detailing Engine 2009
• Swedish Content Library for Revit Architecture 2009– Swedish only
• Autodesk Inventor 2009
• Autodesk® Inventor® 2009 Subscription Bonus Pack
• Transitioning from Autodesk Inventor 2008 Parts 1 & 2 e-Learning - German, French, Italian, Korean, Latin America Spanish
• Inventor 2009 Essentials e-learning – 40 lessons – Simplified Chinese, Russian, Portuguese
• Autodesk NavisWorks Review, Simulate, Manage
• 64-bit DWG Reader for Autodesk NavisWorks 2009
• Revit Architecture 2009
• Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
• Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009  - English, French, Japanese
• Globe Link for Revit 2009
• Revit Architecture 2009 64-bi
• Swedish Content Library for Revit Architecture 2009– Swedish only
• Video Help for Revit Architecture 2009
• Revit MEP 2009
• Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
• Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009  - English, French, Japanese
• Globe Link for Revit 2009
• Revit MEP 2009 64-bit
• Revit Structure 2009
• Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2009 - English, French, Japanese
• Batch Print Utility for Revit 2009  - English, French, Japanese
• Globe Link for Revit 2009
• Revit Structure 2009 64-bit
• Swedish Content Library for Revit Architecture 2009– Swedish only