Between the Lines

AutoCAD 2010 and AutoCAD LT 2010 Update 2 Released for Download

This AutoCAD 2010 Update 2 delivers several fixes for CER and customer reported issues and has been released for AutoCAD and LT customers as a free download. Read more →

AutoCAD 2011 New Surface Commands for Trim, Fillet and Patch

I created a quick video showing how you can now use the new AutoCAD 2011 commands SURFTRIM, SURFFILLET, and SURFPATCH. I created the surfaces for a toy car based on the car designed by Carl Frischmuth in solids and AutoCAD 2007. In addition to all the cool 2D feature enhancements we added to AutoCAD 2011 we also added a great deal of 3D feature enhancements especially in surfacing. You can now perform complex surface operations effortlessly that were not possible or tedious in the past. So below is the quick 3 new command taste of some AutoCAD 2011 surfacing enhancements. Read more →

AutoCAD 2011 CHM Based Help Files Available for Download

With the release of AutoCAD 2011 we replaced the CHM (compiled HTML) based Help system with an online browser based HTML based Help system which you can set to default to online or offline mode and also select your browser of choice. Based on customer feedback, the search performance is not equal to that of the old Help system at this time so we are providing the CHM files for download. It is a 172MB download and currently will not work on 64bit Windows 7. Read more →

AutoCAD’s Top 5 Commands

I asked people in Twitter to take a guess at the top 5 most used commands in AutoCAD are. I received a wide variety of replies and some were very close. I checked the invoked command data reported by hundreds of thousands of AutoCAD users submitting anonymous CIP data. Read more →

New Low Cost Design Software AutoCAD Freestyle is Launched

The product was previously known as Project Cooper on Autodesk Labs, has now graduated as a full fledged Autodesk product now known as AutoCAD Freestyle. You can read all about the new product as well as try the product for 30 days at www.autodesk.com/autocadfreestyle The new low cost product based on AutoCAD yet designed for hobbyist and the DIY (Do It Yourself) crowd is available for purchase at the Autodesk eStore for $49 in the US and Canada at this time. AutoCAD Freestyle It’s easy-to-use, low-cost 2D drawing software ideal for creating professional-looking drawings, layouts, and plans that you can share. Read more →

Autodesk Turns 28 Today

On this day in 1982 Autodesk was officially formed. Happy Birthday Autodesk! Read more →

Happy Earth Day ~ The New Autodesk Sustainable Design Center

You should visit the Autodesk Sustainable Design Center to get up to speed on emerging sustainability trends for your company to succeed in this new “green economy.” Autodesk Sustainable Design Center (www.autodesk.com/sustainabledesign) Other green related pages: Autodesk Carbon Footprint Green Leader Perspectives Sustainable Design Resources Cheers, Shaan Read more →

AutoCAD Bonus Tool MDITabs Works on AutoCAD 2011

Last week while speaking at the American Design Drafting conference in Louisville Kentucky I received the request for a new version of the simple MDITabs Bonus Tool. The free AutoCAD 2010 version works on AutoCAD 2011 as well there are version back to AutoCAD 2007 available for download. Read more →

Project Dragonfly Set Free as Autodesk Homestyler

You can now use the free 2D & 3D home design software Autodesk Homestyler online in the cloud. This project was initially the Autodesk Labs Project Dragonfly and has now graduated from the Autodesk Labs to an Autodesk official product in beta. This is a great solution to do initial planning or layout of home design. Read more →

Download AutoCAD 2011 Tips and Tricks booklet by Lynn Allen

The AutoCAD 2011 Tips and Tricks booklet by Lynn Allen is now available for download from the AutoCAD Exchange. The physical version of the booklets should be coming shortly and be available at AutoCAD events but in the meantime you can download it in a PDF document. Read more →

Weekend of Fun in the Sun

I will be out of the office from Thursday afternoon (April 8th, 2010) until next Tuesday. I am headed down to Tucson Arizona and points South for some hiking in the beautiful Sonoran desert. This is the time of the year when many wildflowers and cactus are blooming and the temperatures are not too hot. It is sadly also the last month that many Arizona parks will be open as many of the nicest parks in Arizona will be closing due to state budget shortfalls. Read more →

AutoCAD 2011 Feature Tips Tricks ~ Drawing Background and UCS Changes

Upon starting AutoCAD 2011 you will immediately notice a few changes in the default settings. One is the background is now a pleasant dark blue and the old point grid is now replaced by a engineering graph paper-like grid lines. Read more →

Autodesk Developer Network DevCamps 2010 Open for Registration

Do you develop applications or integrate products and solutions based on Autodesk products and technologies? If you do then chances are the upcoming3 day DevCamps are just for you. Read more →

New Autodesk Blog ~ Voice of Community

This new blog is hosted by Ray Eisenberg and covers all aspects of the Autodesk user community. Read more →

AutoCAD 2011 Feature Tips Tricks ~ Freehand Sketching

For a longtime the SKETCH command has been in AutoCAD. While the SKETCH command was good for some limited uses like digitizer tracings, the problem was it created tons of small polyline segments that were unjoined to each other. These polyline segments were ok unless you intended to use the geometry for other than a reference. Now with AutoCAD 2011 the default object created by the SKETCH is the spline. Read more →

AutoCAD 2011 Feature Tips Tricks ~ 10 New Hatch Tips

We certainly added many new abilities to the AutoCAD 2011 Hatch object including live preview, the new Hatch ribbon, transparency, hatch background color, and much much more. Here are ten great tips on AutoCAD 2011 for the new Hatch enhancements from my Autodesk colleagues Cliff Young and Nigma Liu who are AutoCAD QA Engineers here at Autodesk. Read more →

Autodesk Love Maker 2011

Autodesk Love Maker 2011 Read more →