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First some may be asking what is RSS. RSS is at its core a XML file that is updated as new content is published. Using RSS Feed aggregator software you can subscribe to these RSS feeds of blogs like this Between the Lines blog using the link on the left side menu, discussion groups like the Autodesk discussion groups (see Robin Capper's article), and now the Autodesk product knowledge bases. RSS feeds allow you to get updates when new articles... Read more →
I recieved an email from a customer on how to add a slide menu to AutoCAD 2006. Question: I like to create my own pull down menus with slides for inserting blocks. As you know, we would create a file.mnu and created the companion file.slb. With 2006 this has apparently changed but I can't find instructions on how to do this in 2006. Can you point me in the correct direction? Can I still create the file.mnu and AutoCAD will... Read more →
After a short guessing game on where I was traveling to, I revealed it was Amsterdam. I will be in the Netherlands on business from the 10th of July to the 15th. I will be traveling from Amsterdam to the Eastern portion of the Netherlands. If anyone that lives in the Netherlands and wants to go for lunch or dinner and chat about AutoCAD, email me at [email protected] with the email subjectline of "Netherlands Trip" to discuss. Cheers, Shaan Read more →
http://earth.google.com/ http://earth.google.com/sites/ Much of the former keyhole product is now free after having been acquired by Google. there is a Beta 1 now available for download. There are some new updated features included. This is a fun product and I have found myself in past versions spending way too much time in it. Here is a view showing the area where Autodesk's San Rafael Civic Center offices are located. The Google Earth placemark kmz file. Download Autodesk-CivicCenter.kmz Here is a... Read more →
The Between the Lines blog first hit 100,000 in August of 2004 less than a year ago and now has surpassed 400,000. Just some samplings of the stats: * In June 2005 there were 26,529 unique visitors to the blog and thousands reading through the available RSS feeds. * In the past 4 months there have been 72,001 unique visitors not including RSS feed readers. * RSS feed consumers are almost doubling each month. * Average time spent on the... Read more →
Autodesk is conducting weekly usability studies for AutoCAD future features at our facility in San Rafael California. For these sessions we need participants with all levels of experience with AutoCAD and other industry-associated applications. A typical in-lab session lasts 1-1.5 hours and you will be paid $60 for your time. You will be working with product designers/usability engineers and helping us to validate future features or changes. In many cases it is possible to book two sessions back to back... Read more →
As a current Autodesk subscription customer you get many benefits including some professional e-Learning lessons. You can get to the e-Learning lessons by logging into the Subscription Center at www.autodesk.com/subscriptionlogin. Most of the 2006 software products allow subscription customers access to e-Learning through the Help menu. Simply click on Subscription e-Learning from the Help menu. Each interactive lesson is only 15-30 minutes and will showcase the new features and provide hands-on exercises for the following products: AutoCAD® 2006 AutoCAD® Electrical... Read more →
The release candidate for DWF™ Toolkit 7 features portability across Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Apple Mac OS X. The toolkit’s debut on May 25, 2005 has many users asking about what is now possible with the new toolkit. To answer this question properly requires an understanding of the structure of a DWF file as well as the Autodesk DWF Viewer. The DWF format is based on industry standards. For example, a DWF file itself is actually a standard zip file.... Read more →
There is a new hotifix update released for AutoCAD 2006 based products. Link to Update This update corrects two problems that have been reported by customers with regards to editing CUI files. * Duplicate IDs in a CUI file cause an error message indicating an invalid file. * Menu files that contain a screen menu are incorrectly converted, resulting in extra spaces at the top. Upon converting a menu file that contains a screen menu, erroneous blank lines are added... Read more →
I thought it might be fun to see if anyone can guess where I will be in 13 days? Below is a clue and a satellite image from http://maps.google.com. Clues: beer and coffee Satellite image clue: More clues later. Email your guess to [email protected] Shaan
I am unable to upload my images the the Daily Grind gallery for some unknown technical issue right now. I am however able to post a the images here in the main blog. Photo from out front of the hotel in Plano Texas Myself in the La Hacienda Ranch restaurant in Frisco Texas. It is amazing what a great Texan dinner and a frozen margarita will do to you. I found myself trying to be a real Texan. I know... Read more →
I have been in Dallas Texas for the last 36 hours. I had a great time and met with some customers while there. I also had a great dinner at the La Hacienda which was reported as the location that invented the frozen margarita. I helped out with the Dallas Texas economy by getting lost a few times. This resulted in many toll booth donations since many of the major roads in Dallas are toll roads. The people in Dallas... Read more →
I wanted to mention that there are several AutoCAD tips published by Autodesk and many are for the new AutoCAD 2006. There are also tips for AutoCAD 2002, AutoCAD 2004, and AutoCAD 2005. Some of these tips may have first appeared in the AutoCAD Communication Center tips and tricks for those with that feature enabled. Some example AutoCAD 2006 tips: * Adding pull-down menus * Extracting Block Attributes * Creating workspaces for an Enterprise CUI file * Including object properties... Read more →
Just a quick alert that AutoCAD 2006 in the Russian language has just began shipping today. http://www.autodesk.ru http://www.autodesk.ru/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=871736&id=5130476 Shaan Read more →
The Autodesk Platform Technologies Division is looking to add to our Platform Technologies Design & Usability team. If you would be willing to relocate, have the experience, and are interested, you can contact Jeff Lopes (hiring manager) 415-507-8550. [email protected] Position 1 Product Designer for a new product from the company that makes AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor, and Architectural Desktop. San Rafael, CA. As a mid-level designer you will join a team of very talented, driven designers and usability experts. We are... Read more →
I met yesterday with the AUGI Board of Directors as they are here in San Rafael California for a few days visiting Autodesk headquarters. It is always a pleasure meeting with them and discussing all sorts of topics including the CAD Camps. They all traveled a great distance to visit with us from locations like Yoshi Honda coming from Hawaii and the Mike Perry coming from the UK. AUGI (Autodesk Users Group International) is the worlds largest Autodesk user group... Read more →
I get this question from time to time. It is usually asked after a customer has experienced a problem with a DWG file from someone else that was corrupted or had a problem. They ask how can they tell if the source of their DWG files is coming from a non-Autodesk writing applications which can be source or contributor of the problem DWG files. Here is an answer: This is not something new. In AutoCAD since R14.01 you can set... Read more →
Just a quick alert that AutoCAD 2006 in the Czech language has just began shipping today. Kratke upozorneni: Dnes bylo započato odesílání AutoCADu 2006 v českém jazyce do distribuční site. http://www.autodesk.cz/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=551663&id=5130473 Shaan Read more →
Autodesk has announced today a new Software Developers Kit "SDK" named Autodesk RealDWG 2006. This is a product for C++ and .NET developers to incorporate 100% DWG and DXF drawing files into their host applications. Host applications writing DWG files with the Autodesk RealDWG will be writing the same DWG file format as Autodesk AutoCAD does without requiring AutoCAD be installed on the same computer. The Autodesk RealDWG can read DWG files from AutoCAD 2.5 and write 100% DWG files... Read more →
We had a 7.0 quake almost an hour ago and now the television is showing a tsunami warning for the entire California coast is in effect. -Shaan
We had two major earthquakes tonight in Northern California. One was a magnitude 7.0 and the other 3.9. It is odd as I did not even feel them and I am only 12 miles as the crow flies from the infamous San Andreas fault. There has been a small swarm of quakes. Links to data http://www.iris.edu/seismon/ (nice site showing worldwide quake activity) http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/ http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/shake/ca/STORE/Xziae_05/ciim_display.html http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqs/ Read more →
We are collecting the names of people in the UK who use either AutoCAD 2002 or AutoCAD 2006 and would like to participate in a productivity study. If you are interested, please complete the form below. Our research partners will recruit 20 participants from this list. Sign up to be considered for this project at this LINK Read more →
Just an alert that AutoCAD 2006 in the Hungarian language just began shipping today. http://www.autodesk.hu/adsk/servlet/index?id=5130470&siteID=545672 Shaan Read more →
I am getting hooked on podcast listening. Podcasts are informative and/or humorous depending on the podcast you find on the web. A podcast is really nothing more than a .mp3 audio file that most any computer or audio device can play. The podcasts are like a radio show recorded. You can place them on your portable player and listen to them whenever you want to. More detailed podcast history and information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting Autodesk has been doing some podcasts from the... Read more →
Just a quick note that the Polish localized AutoCAD 2006 began shipping to customers this week. http://www.autodesk.pl/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=553660&id=5130474 Cheers, Shaan Read more →