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Did you know you can change the order the tiles render in AutoCAD 2008? Of course on a single processor this is not really all that fun, but on a multi-core machine it can be cool and mesmerizing. I have always wanted to say mesmerizing. ;-) Perhaps you just assumed that the seemingly random order of the tiles was meant to be and never cared to explore and find the setting. I have my paranoid suspicions that the reason the... Read more →
When: Coming Soon! What: 3ds Max 9 Extension: Productivity Booster Updated DWG support for 2008 products such as AutoCAD 2008, AutoCAD Architecture 2008, and Revit Architecture 2008. Added the Select Similar feature to select multiple imported objects based on similar attributes. Memory management enhancement and optimization make performance much better especially for complex and object-heavy scenes. Compatibility with Microsoft Vista (32 bit and 64 bit) and DirectX 10. 30 additional productivity enhancements to animation, modelling, programming, textures, rendering, and more.... Read more →
The site 3DAllusions.com published a nice detailed review of the upcoming Autodesk Impression by Russell Thomas. What I liked about the article is it is someone who uses design software in a real world environment. Link to the Article For more Impression info: http://labs.autodesk.com/Impressionlanding.html Product Manager Michael Perani explains the background behind this Autodesk Labs experiment. Watch Video [High] [Low] Autodesk Impression Community Technorati tags: Autodesk Impression, 3Dallusions, Autodesk, DWG, DWF, presentation-ready graphics, CAD, render, illustration, Autodesk Labs Read more →
Author, Trainer, Visualization guru, and all around nice guy Ted Boardman has released over 7 hours of 3ds Max 9 and Viz training. Having learned from and assisted Ted in the past at AU classes his training style is easy. Ted also helps you avoid the bad habits which is a big plus. For more information about Ted Boardman visit Ted’s website and blog at http://www.tbmax.com New Video Tutorial Series Online: The 3ds Max and VIZ video tutorials series released... Read more →
Today I turn the big 40... I am not too sure how to feel about this milestone. In an effort to distract myself from the black balloon birthday, I posted more photos from Seattle CAD Camp 2007 into my Daily Grind III photo gallery. Read more →
A huge THANK YOU for all that attended the Seattle CAD Camp and the excellent facility and hosts Renton Technical Community College and Mike, PSAUG and Jamie from Midpoint CAD, "wicked cool" Matt Murphy of ACAD Ventures, and Greg and Imaginit, and AUGI for making it a success. I met many people I have known over the years as well as some new people. Being from the Pacific Northwest it was nice to be back in the region. This was... Read more →
In addition to the awesomely powerful mental ray renderer we added in AutoCAD 2007 we have added more control and features to allow you to create even more stunning renderings with AutoCAD 2008. Photometric Lights Photometric lights use “real-world” values for adjusting lighting. For example, if your scene requires you to use fixtures (luminaries) that contain a 75W bulb, you can select a bulb that is 75W from the tool palette. You can adjust the lamp intensity of the bulb... Read more →
AutoCAD 2008 uses the same DWG format as AutoCAD 2007 and it can read all DWG files from AutoCAD 2 back in the early 1980's. The API is binary compatible so 2007 applications should run fine or check with your 3rd party developer. 64bit is new so any ARX you want to run on the 64bit version of AutoCAD will require recompiling. Here are some compatibility highlights from a AutoCAD 2008 Questions and Answers document. Do AutoCAD 2004/2005/2006/2007 third-party applications... Read more →
The system requirements for 32-bit AutoCAD: Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, 2.2 GHz Recommended Microsoft® Windows Vista™, Windows® XP Home and Professional (SP2), Windows® 2000 (SP4) 512 MB RAM 750 MB free disk space for installation 1024x768 VGA with True Color Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.0 (SP1 or higher) Available on CD (Worldwide) and DVD (select countries and languages) Additional System Requirements for 64-bit AutoCAD Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Vista 64-bit AMD64 or Intel EM64T processor 1GB RAM, 2GB... Read more →
Several enhancements to dimensioning include automatic alignment options, dimens... Read more →
New System Variables 3DCONVERSIONMODE Used to convert material and light definitions 3DSELECTIONMODE Controls the selection precedence of visually overlapping objects when using 3D visual styles ANNOALLVISIBLE Hides or displays annotative objects that do not support the current annotation scale ANNOAUTOSCALE Updates annotative objects to support the annotation scale when the annotation scale is changed ANNOTATIVEDWG Specifies whether or not the drawing will behave as an annotative block when inserted into another drawing ATTIPE Controls the display of the in-place editor... Read more →
Below is the list of Changed or Removed commands in AutoCAD 2008. 3DCONFIG Added plot emulation and texture compression options -3DCONFIG Added plot emulation and texture compression options (Command prompt version) ATTDEF Added support for annotative scaling -ATTDEF Added support for annotative scaling (Command prompt version) ATTEDIT Multiple-line attribute support BATTMAN Added support for annotative scaling BLOCK Added support for annotative scaling -BLOCK Added support for annotative scaling (Command prompt version) CHPROP Added support for annotative scaling CUI Added dashboard... Read more →
Perhaps you have been curious about Autodesk Impression or have not heard of it yet and are one of the people that do not enjoy the smell of ink markers, or just need a simple way to create nice renderings of your designs and not be forced to redo in a photo editor each time the design changes, then you should take 45 minutes to see a demo by AEC design visualization guru Todd Hunter. Tuesday, February 6, 2007 (10:00... Read more →
ANNORESET Resets the location of all scale representations for an annotative object to that of the current scale representation ANNOUPDATE Updates existing annotative objects to match the current properties of their styles ATTIPEDIT Changes the textual content of an attribute within a block AUTOPUBLISH Publishes drawings to DWF files automatically DGNADJUST Changes the display options of selected DGN underlays DGNATTACH Attaches a DGN underlay to the current drawing DGNCLIP Defines a clipping boundary for a selected DGN underlay DGNEXPORT Creates... Read more →
After losing my good friend Wyatt my golden lab less than a month ago, I found a new black lab puppy awaiting me when I returned from Costa Rica as a surprise. I named him Rio the Spanish word for River. He is going to be a big dog and quite a personality. It is a real downer that the Autodesk Labs logo with Wyatt has now been removed from the server. :-( Read more →
I had this cartoon emailed to me from a coworker and thought I would share a quick chuckle for some of the LISP geek guru readers of this blog. It was from http://xkcd.com/c224.html. Technorati tags: LISP Read more →
Here are a few of my AutoCAD 2008 favorites: Windows Vista Support Multiple Mtext Columns Viewport Layer Freeze Auto DWF Publish Ability to change multiple copy default Easier Way to add layouts to Sheet set manager Manipulating Layout tabs Publish and plotting - homogenous plot file Tool Tips for Dynamic Block grips Activate palette when object is hovering over a tab Support overriding tool icons in Palettes Ability to redefine blocks through tool palettes Tool palettes command line access Materials... Read more →
With the recent release of Microsoft Windows Vista, many of our customers have inquired about our operating system support for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. Autodesk is pleased to announce that AutoCAD 2008 scheduled for a March release, is compatible with the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, Business and Enterprise. AutoCAD LT also schedule for release in March is compatible with the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, Business and... Read more →
www.autodesk.com/impression Updates since Technical Preview 3 Stability and performance improvements. Work is ongoing to make Impression as fast and reliable as possible. Quickstart Tour updated. Updated panels and animations give a quick preview of how to stylize your drawing. Change Dashboard configuration quickly. Two new Palettes menu options give you quick access to expanded displays of the Layers and Styles palettes (in the Dashboard). Isolate Layers Section expands the Layers palette and closes the Styles palette. Isolate Styles Section expands... Read more →
I have been in Costa Rica Central America on vacation with a good friend for the last 2 weeks. I have some posts to make and photos to post but have to get back up to speed after having my luggage involuntarily donated while traveling and trying to catch up on email, and current events. Cheers, Shaan Read more →
Just wanted to point out a good AutoCAD dynamic block tutorial and sample file to create a dynamic detail bubble callout is available from the Learn AutoCAD Blog. http://learnacad.blogspot.com/2007/01/detail-bubble-dynamic-block.html Read more →
In addition to the other search engines there is one specific for DWG or DWF files. http://cadbot.com/ Technorati tags: Search, DWG, DWF Read more →
LINK ID: TP8008522 Applies to: AutoCAD® 2007 AutoCAD® 2006 AutoCAD® 2005 AutoCAD® 2004 AutoCAD LT® 2007 AutoCAD LT® 2006 AutoCAD LT® 2005 AutoCAD LT® 2004 When using the BOUNDARY command, turn off unnecessary layers and zoom into the area of the boundary to be created. This speeds up the operation by reducing the number of objects to be processed. Tip submitted by: Dieter Schlaepfer Autodesk Read more →
LINK ID: TP8012930 Applies to: AutoCAD® 2007 You can create a selection set of more than one subobject (faces, edges, and vertices) on any number of solids by pressing and holding CTRL, and then selecting these subobjects. Your selection set can also include more than one type of subobject. You can also use CTRL to select subobjects (faces, edges, and vertices) on 3D solids at the selection prompts of the MOVE, ROTATE, SCALE, and ERASE commands. Tip submitted by: Karyn... Read more →
Shawn Gilmour of Autodesk took this picture while in Shanghai China this week. Technorati tags: Windows Vista, Shanghai China Read more →