Between the Lines

Design & Construction for Mass Timber Event

Panel Discussion & Conversation on Thursday, August 13th, at 3:00 p.m. EST Recent trends in timber construction allow the world to imagine buildings as carbon sinks. Driven by this potential and other construction benefits, the AEC industry is evolving what it means to build with wood. Outsights will join together industry panelists to discuss how timber construction is re-shaping the design process towards an early convergence of trades and how this convergence can accelerate innovation across industries. Leading to the... Read more →

Autodesk University 2020 is No Cost!

You know the saying, “Go Big, or Go Home” well this years Autodesk University in light of the current health and safety issues with the COVID-19 pandemic went online for this year and it was just announced it will be no cost to attend online for everything. All you need to do is just register when registration opens mid September. While I will miss the in-person networking, fun, meeting new people, the morning run, the annual social media meetup, and... Read more →

AutoCAD Web App Program - Free For a Limited Time

Due to the ongoing need and importance for remote work, and in recognition of the ongoing challenges our customers continue to face, we are launching a new program called the Web App Program. Autodesk is offering the new Web App Program beginning July 1, 2020. This program enables anyone to access all the tools and commands of the AutoCAD web app from any computer for free, including free for commercial use, for an extended period. How do I access the... Read more →

Autodesk COVID 19 Resources and Projects

Many of of our jobs and industries are changing due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, with many looking for resources and information on how to change quickly, and safely. Autodesk has created a resource center to support you with details on special programs, remote working assistance, learning, industry resources and Autodesk Foundation information. Autodesk COVID-19 Resource Center If you are in the AEC industry, I would strongly encourage you to look at the Return to Workplace information and resources. https://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/aec-return-to-workplace... Read more →

Be Part of Autodesk University 2020

Autodesk University 2020 and connected events will be reimagined as digital experiences this year. We have started the call for proposals from May 20, 2020 and it is open until June 22, 2020. For this year, I am considering some proposals myself including ones focused on innovation as well as how a hackathon or innovation sprint can surface innovative solutions to challenges for your company or industry. Be a leader and submit an idea In addition to proposing a class... Read more →

Autodesk Extended Access Program

On March 24, Autodesk launched the Extended Access Program to enable customers to use certain cloud collaboration products free, for commercial use. Due to the strong uptake we’ve seen for the program, and in recognition of the ongoing challenges customers continue to face, we are extending the duration of the program by an additional 30 days. BIM 360 Docs, BIM 360 Design, Fusion 360, Fusion Team, AutoCAD Web, AutoCAD Mobile, and Shotgun will continue to be available to customers for... Read more →

Autodesk University Goes Online for 2020

Today, an important decision was announced about Autodesk University 2020. In the interest of safety the event was going digital. I know it is a difficult decision to make, but I'm certain it was the right thing to do and they will make the very best of it. Perhaps we can hold the annual AU5k and AU Social Meetup in a creative and fun way. This is only for this year so there is still a chance for AU 2021... Read more →

Solutions for Remote Collaboration in Design and Manufacturing

There is a great resource for those that need some assistance in learning how to remotely collaborate effectively, remote solutions, get Autodesk licenses, and more in a video playlist. Working remotely and especially collaborating with others from home requires some adjustments but it doesn’t have to be a challenge. Many solutions for such setup are either already available to current Autodesk customers through Autodesk Account or can be accessed via the Extended Access Program. The list of collaboration products available... Read more →

Dieter’s Guide to the AutoCAD Customer Galaxy

Today I was fortunate to participate with about 70+ other employees in celebrating and wishing the best of retirement to a long time AutoCAD team member and passionate customer advocate for 32 years Dieter Schlaepfer. Dieter has been involved in many things at Autodesk over 32 years but primarily learning and training then in the 22 years I have known his in the technical publications roles. He was always trying to find out from customers how we can communicate feature... Read more →

Requesting a Home Use License for Remote Work

As part of our ongoing effort to assist our customers who are now working remotely, we sent an email communication on Tuesday, March 31 to customers who rely on network servers for software access to remind them of our Home Use license policy. A Home Use License allows you to use your software from home as long as your subscription or maintenance plan is active, and until they return to the workplace. For subscriptions with single-user access (named user) Install... Read more →

Enter the AEC Excellence Awards 2020

Do you have an outstanding architecture, engineering, or construction project that deserves recognition? Showcase it to the world in the AEC Excellence Awards 2020. Enter now: autode.sk/34DBTOC Don’t miss the opportunity to showcase your outstanding design and construction projects. The call for entries opens on April 15, 2020. Deadline for submission is June 10, 2020. https://youtu.be/LSC8yxbvJVQ Read more →

Setup BIM 360 Projects Programmatically – Open Source Release

There is a new Open Source Tool from our Autodesk Global Consulting Delivery to address a common request from our customers requiring a way to automate setting up BIM 360 environment users and projects. The BIM 360 project setup tool sample was first created by Oliver Scharpf from our Global Consulting Delivery team to solve this need. The tool was released by Autodesk to Open Source for everyone to use. Use this command line tool to setup BIM 360 projects,... Read more →

Opportunity to Ask Autodesk Experts - Every Tuesday

Ask Autodesk Experts about working remotely and collaboration with our products during Community Office Hours, every Tuesday! Learn more about Autodesk Office Hours: autode.sk/2R5eSOY Read more →

AutoCAD 2021 Is Here - See What’s Inside

The new AutoCAD 2021 is here and the AutoCAD Team has released the details on what is inside. AutoCAD 2021 Is Here: See What’s Inside Automatic Insights Into Drawing History Quick Identification of Changes with Xref Compare Enhancements to Blocks Palette Improvements to Graphics Performance AutoCAD Web App and Google Drive Integration Take a Tour of AutoCAD 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-yK7vyJlM0&feature=youtu.be Download AutoCAD 2021 Today! Check out the new features in AutoCAD 2021 and AutoCAD LT 2021 by logging into your Autodesk... Read more →

Autodesk Offers Free & Extended Access to Cloud Collaboration Products

In response to customer feedback, we're offering an Extended Access Program for several of our flagship cloud collaboration products to better support our customers during this challenging time. Learn more here: https://adsknews.autodesk.com/views/COVID-19 ”Customers & Partners Autodesk Offers Free & Extended Access to Cloud Collaboration Products (March 19) As Autodesk keeps a close eye on the impact the coronavirus (COVID-19) is having on our industry, we’re continuing to explore the best ways we can support our customers, flex to meet their changing... Read more →

A Message from Autodesk on COVID-19

Please take a moment to read the message from Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost on what Autodesk is doing about coronavirus COVID-19 for our customers, employees, partners, families, and our communities. Read the Message autode.sk/covid-19 Read more →

Autodesk Gets Even More Serious on Industrialized Construction

Industrialized construction (IC) is a construction system that uses more innovative and integrated techniques that connect the design to-make process. Just this past Friday it was announced that that Amy Marks aka “Queen of Prefab” has joined Autodesk as the Head of Industrialized Construction Strategy and Evangelism. Amy Marks joining shows one more proof point on how serious the commitment is from Autodesk that Industrialized Construction is critical to the future of construction. Read the announcement: Insights from the Queen... Read more →

Up Close and Personal with 3ds Max Event

Join the team behind 3ds Max for a first look at and discussion around recent Max updates. During this 2 hour and 30 minute live stream event, we'll be joined by guests from Scanline VFX, Ubisoft, and Hoare Lea. 1:00-1:20: Introduction & Updated Roadmap; Nancy LaRue, Industry Marketing Manager with Product Manager 1:20-1:40: Arnold & Physical Material as default, Viewport updates; Zap Andersson, Principal SW Engineer 1:40-1:55: Bake to Texture; Louis Marcoux, Principal UX Designer 1:55-2:10: Modeling Updates; Logan Foster,... Read more →

Mass Timber Summit and Hackathon in Portland Oregon

Are you passionate about technology, AEC design, sustainable wood, and mass timber design and construction? If you answered yes to any of these, you should consider attending the Mass Timber Summit Hackathon being held in beautiful Portland Oregon March 20-22, 2020. Join leading architects, engineers, researchers, builders, fabricators, real estate professionals and technologists for a weekend of innovation focused on mass timber, digitalization of construction, automation, robotics and software. Mass Timber Workshops and Hackathon Link to Event Page www.masstimberhackathon.com Presenters... Read more →

Electronics Design Now Included in Fusion 360

This is huge news for those in the design and manufacturing world as you can now do your industrial and mechanical design but with this months update you get professional electronics design. This makes Fusion 360 an end to end design tool for designing and manufacturing products. Read more →

AEC Hackathon 7.0 Copenhagen

One of my favorite events filled with innovative thinking and ideas combined with collaborative fun and technology are the AEC Hackathons held around the world. The next big AEC Hackathon is being held next month in one of my favorite cities in the world, Copenhagen Denmark. ] Feb 21 2020 18:00 - Feb 23 2020 20:00 In a nutshell, the hackathon starts with a group of people from industry, academia, tech, architects, and programmers that for the most part don't... Read more →

Autodesk Portland is One of the Best Places to Work in Portland Oregon

This past November I gave a tour to a team from the local Portland magazine Portland Monthly. The current January 2020 issue has Autodesk featured as one of the best Portland offices to work in.We moved into this renovated 1913 building almost two years ago, and absolutely love it. Autodesk has had a office in the Portland area for over 25 years and this is where Autodesk Mechanical Desktop, Autodesk Inventor, and Fusion 360 products were born. Now the office... Read more →

Over 700 Hours of Training for Free

If you weren't able to attend Autodesk University 2019 in Las Vegas last month or missed a class in your busy schedule here is an amazing resource and opportunity. There are over 700 hours of recorded AU 2019 sessions are now online for free, from labs and keynotes to instructional demos and panels. The learning is just getting started. https://autode.sk/38yDkiK Read more →

Autodesk University 2019 Sessions are Now Online

The opportunity for Better starts with learning from the best sessions at the recent Autodesk University 2019. The video recordings, handouts, slides and more are now available. Just sign in and let the learning begin. View 2019 Sessions Read more →

The Autodesk Group Network – Find Your Group

There are currently 70+ groups around the World and growing of thousands of Autodesk product and technology users just like you. Go have a look and find your group or enter your existing group (add a group) to the growing list. Local groups are an invaluable resource and network as I remember running the Portland Autodesk Users Group years and years ago and many awesome local people looking to share ways of using the software and back then it was... Read more →