Thursday, July 15, 2004
Feedback Direct to the Autodesk Product Teams
If you want to provide your feedback on products direct to the teams responsible for them, there is a direct way via a feedback form. This feedback goes directly to the team members. I can speak for the AutoCAD Team as one of those on the feedback list, we reply to much of the incoming email and take it into consideration for future solutions and development work.
AutoCAD Team Feedback Form
Click Here
Bug Report Form
http://www.autodesk.com/submitbug
There is a feedback link on every product page at the bottom shown as "Contact Us".
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, July 15, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Modeling a Log Home in Autodesk Revit
There is an interesting tutorial on how to create sculptured log walls in Autodesk Revit on Revitcity.com.
Also while at Revitcity, have a look at the gallery of what Revit users have created using Revit as some are quite impressive.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, July 15, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
AutoCAD Tips on DWF and More by Michael Beall the "AutoCADTrainerGuy"
Michael Beall published his July 2004 AutoCAD Tips and Tricks which are always a great resource to pickup a few good productivity enhancing tips. Michael also has a great publication that is another great resource named the AutoCAD Toolbelt in addition to the other books and training he does.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2
Below are some links to information about the upcoming Windows XP Service Pack 2 which is expected in August. I have been running the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Release Candidate 2 on my machine and really like it.
We at Autodesk have been testing our products with the Service Pack as Microsoft makes many changes to the way software can operate in order to close some APIs and vulnerabilities.
All in all, this Service Pack is a very good thing and even adds some new features and changes like the new and easier wireless configuration dialog.
The Lowdown on XP Service Pack 2 RC2 Click Here
Windows XP SP2: Trouble Ahead for Developers, Users from eWeek Click Here
Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 Detailed Information and RC2 download Click Here
Changes to Functionality in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2
If you install Windows XP SP2 (RC2) on a Tablet PC, you will automatically be upgraded to RC2 of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 (codenamed “Lonestar).”
The New Wireless Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP Service Pack 2 http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg0604.mspx">Click Here
Manually Configuring Windows Firewall in Windows XP SP2 . The firewall is enabled by default now and there is a Security Center Click Here
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, July 08, 2004
AUGI TIPniques - July 2004 - The Autodesk Knowledge Base
Below is a link to a helpful article by Michael Perry discussing the Autodesk online Knowledge Base and other helpful resources. Michael Perry is a member of AUGI and he works in the UK for FaberMaunsell (An AECOM Company) within its Bridges and Special Structures Division.
Click Here for the article.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, July 08, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
David Harrington's New AutoCAD 2005 Book is Now Available
My good friend and the former AUGI President David Harrington has just shipped a new book on AutoCAD 2005. I recently visited David in Tampa Florida. Tampa and Florida are very nice and beautiful. Hot, but very nice. The cover of David's book shows the new Arizona Cardinals Stadium which was done in AutoCAD.
Link to purchase the book from Amazon.com Click here
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AutoCAD 2005 Sheet Set Manager Tutorial by Alireza Parsai of www.cadpanel.com
Alireza of www.cadpanel.com has posted a nice tutorial walking you through the AutoCAD 2005 feature Sheet Sets and how to use them.
Table of Contents
Link to AutoCAD 2005 Sheet Set Manager Tutorials: http://www.cadpanel.com/trainees/2005sheetsetmanager/040704ssm2005.htm
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, July 05, 2004
Another CAD Related Blog Announcement "The Autodesk Informer" by Ryan Small
Check out Ryan Small's blog "The Autodesk Informer". Ryan is from Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The content is top notch and covers many Autodesk related products, helpful product tips, and information.
Link to The Autodesk Informer blog http://myblogs.typepad.com/autodesk/
I also added this to my links on the side of my blog.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, July 05, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A Helpful Tips for AutoCAD 2005 Article by Lynn Allen
My good friend Lynn Allen has written another great article in Cadalyst. It has 27 great tips to maximizing your use and productivity of AutoCAD 2005.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, July 05, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Welcome to Another CAD Related Blog - Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology
I was looking through all of the referring URLs to this blog, and noticed a new CAD related blog from Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology and School of Engineering. I hope the blog for CPIT takes off. The students will gain a great deal of exposure to how others use CAD around the world and some great tips and tricks.
Blogs are a great resource and can point many to other resources around the web with a more personal or customized way than a search engine.
Who said CAD was not fun? It certainly was not me, as it has been a blast for me the forever-recovering mechanical designer.
I am a huge supporter for students in engineering and CAD. I always welcome questions from students on CAD and engineering subjects as well as welcome their emailed feedback on CAD and what they think. I actually had some of the coolest ideas recently from a high school student who was competing with a student team in robot design and build competition. It is remarkable how the students have such fresh ideas and a unique perspective as they learn CAD. For example, a student called me on the phone to discuss his take on 3D assemblies. He suggested that currently you can now program constraints for movement within the 3D model assembly, but why not link or rig those constraints to electrical motors. The electrical system could control the movements based on the settings of specified hardware and take into account the wiring and much more. Imagine a fully automated (Inverse Kinematics) robot in Autodesk Inventor. Test a design more completely before committing the design to fabrication. Digital trial and error with movement as well as other functional constraints to simulate performance, mechanics, and even operating environments. This could sprout the mechanical equivalent of the architectural industry buzzword BIM (Building Information Modeling). Perhaps MAIM for Mechanical Assembly Information Modeling. 
I also donate leftover products in my department to students at the end of the year.
Well here goes the CPIT traffic of web hits.
Check out the new CPIT Blog with Andrew Robertson and hopefully
soon the faculty and students.
http://cadatcpit.blogspot.com
http://cadatcpit.blogspot.com/2004/06/blogs-from-within-autodesk.html
Is it just me, or are the New Zealanders one of the most active regions for pro-active CAD discussions? In any case, I do hope to attend one of the CAD conferences down there sometime. I almost attended last year at a CAD conference with Hugh Bathurst, but the notice for the event did not offer enough planning time for me.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, June 30, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Marin Autodesk Users Group July 8th, 2004 Meeting
Come one come all and get your Autodesk questions answered. In addition to meeting the fine members of MAUG, you will be witnessing my warped humor and relaxed geek presentation style. Please do not come expecting too much, and you will leave very satisfied
When: July 8th 2004
Time: 6 to 8 pm 111 McInness Parkway, San Rafael California
Who: Shaan Hurley, Autodesk Beta Mgr & Tech. Marketing Mgr.
What: Shaan will discuss System Variables, Commands, and ways to provide direct feedback to Autodesk on the future of the products.
Bring your Autodesk and AutoCAD questions.
I am giving away a copy of the new DWF Composer.
I may also be appearing at a Napa CAD Users Group, which meets the first Tuesday of the Month. I wonder if they drink Napa wines at the meeting.
If you have an Autodesk or AutoCAD user’s group meeting, let me know. If I can get there, I would to love to attend a meeting. If you would like answer your questions and discuss the many ways Autodesk listens to its customers or perhaps I can arrange another Autodesk person to speak to a specific topic you have.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Nice Tutorial from Down Under on Architectural Desktop
There is a very nice tutorial on space sketches in Architectural Desktop on the blog RobiNZ by Robin Capper of New Zealand.
Check Out RobiNZ Space Sketches in Architectural Desktop Tutorial 
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Who Uses or Abuses PowerPoint?
Need some great tips on presentations, organizational communications, and the proper use of PowerPoint?
The use of PowerPoint in presentations is not a natural or easy thing. It seems to me that you get 40% of presentations show to little, 40% show too much and end up reading the slides to you, and about 10% really do a great job of balancing the highlights and keeping the audiences attention and making the subject memorable. I have seen and done my share of abuse of PowerPoint. There is nothing like an animated arrow bullet with sound effect in a PowerPoint presentation to get the crowd running for the door. Then again, my son created a whole cartoon in PowerPoint and it was amazing.
More food for thought.
Know your subject and know it well. Understand who the intended audience is, and adjust accordingly.
I am definitely no master of the delicate balance or at presentations and usually fall in the over kill on slides. I keep working on my skills, and have a "PowerPoint Master" for a boss.
Check out the blog by Cliff Atkinson: "Beyond Bullets"
http://sociablemedia.typepad.com/beyond_bullets/
A few articles of interest:
The author also has a web site full of articles http://www.sociablemedia.com/articles_list.htm
I love a quote from one of Cliff's articles on Bullet Points:
"Guns don't kill communication.
Bullet points kill communication.
And when you use bullet points in a PowerPoint, you're shooting yourself in the foot."
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, June 17, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
AutoCAD White Papers Are a Great Resource
The AutoCAD White Papers web page link click here
AutoCAD 2005
AutoCAD 2004
Posted on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, June 11, 2004
More Great Feedback on this Blog
Shaan, I just wanted to give thanks to you for the excellent job that you've been doing on the B.T.L. Blog. I check it everyday, I can honestly say that it's the best place for quick info on AutoCAD. The content that you give is excellent, easy to read, and very timely.
I know there are lots of places to get info on AutoCAD but the B.T.L. Blog is among the best.
Keep up the great work!
Bill Goetz
Peter Basso Associates, Inc
Thank you Bill.
Sincerlely,
Shaan Hurley
Posted on Friday, June 11, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
The New AutoCAD & LT 2005 Bible Coming in July from Ellen Finkelstein
AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005 Bible
Ellen Finkelstein
ISBN: 0-7645-6989-9
What can I say about Ellen. She has been a great person the years that I have known her and she takes a real nice approach to teaching a product and features in her books and her website http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/AutoCAD_tips.html. Ellen also started the tradition of people sending me cookies and others have followed such as Darren Young who sent me about 40 pounds of cookies.
Wiley::AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005 Bible
Now revised and updated for the latest program versions, this bestseller is a comprehensive reference and tutorial for architects, engineers, drafters, and others using the leading computer-assisted design software, AutoCAD, or its "lite" version, AutoCAD LT
- Begins with AutoCAD basics, including the AutoCAD interface and commands, and progresses to complex topics such as programming and customization
- No AutoCAD experience is required to use this book, and a Quick Start guide shows beginning AutoCAD users how to create a technical drawing their very first day
- More than 150 tutorials use drawings collected from AutoCAD pros, giving readers valuable, real-world experience
Includes coverage of AutoCAD LT, the world’s most popular inexpensive 2D technical drawing program - The CD-ROM contains before and after real-world drawings, bonus appendices, freeware and shareware programs, the book in searchable PDF format, and a 30-day trial version of AutoCAD software
Pre order the book at the publishers web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0764569899.html
Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
New AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 2005 Books Released
Mastering™ AutoCAD® 2005 and AutoCAD LT® 2005
By George Omura
Released June 2004
ISBN: 0-7821-4340-7 | EAN: 9 780782 143409 | UPC: 0252-11-443408
From the publishers website:
The Definitive CAD Resource Updated for 2005 Mastering AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005 is a fully updated edition of Omura's enduring masterpiece. Once again, he delivers the most comprehensive and comprehensible coverage for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT users including information on the Sheet Set Manager, field command, table tool and the software's other productivity enhancers. If you've never used AutoCAD, the tutorial approach and step-by-step instruction will help you get started right away. If you're an AutoCAD veteran, in-depth explanations of AutoCAD's newest and most advanced features will help you become an AutoCAD expert. Whatever your experience, however you use AutoCAD, you’ll refer to this indispensable resource again and again.Coverage includes:
Finding your way around the AutoCAD interface
Creating and developing an AutoCAD drawing
Keeping track of your projects with the new sheet set manager
Importing spreadsheets and editing tables with the new Table tool
Updating text automatically with the new field command
Controlling your drawings' printed output
Discovering hidden features
Mastering the 3D modeling and rendering process
Customizing AutoCAD
Linking drawings to databases and spreadsheets
Managing custom symbols
Securing and authenticating your files
Aligning and coordinating Layout views
Using Publish to share files with non-AutoCAD users
You can pre-order the book now at many online bookstores like Amazon.com Click Here
Another book was released in May
AutoCAD® 2005 and AutoCAD LT® 2005: No Experience Required®
By David Frey
Released May 2004
ISBN: 0-7821-4341-5 | EAN: 9 780782 143416 | UPC: 0252-11-443415
From the publishers website:
The First Choice for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Novices – from the Leading AutoCAD Publisher!
AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005: No Experience Required is your step-by-step introduction to the latest versions of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, the world's leading customizable CAD software. Inside this perfectly paced guide are the clear-cut explanations and practical tutorials that you need to complete even the most elaborate AutoCAD projects.Discover AutoCAD 2005's newest features as you plan and develop a complete project. Follow the tutorials sequentially or begin at any chapter by downloading the drawing files from the Sybex website. Either way, you’ll develop a solid grounding in the essentials and learn how to use AutoCAD's productivity tools to get your work done efficiently.
Gain the Imperative AutoCAD Skills
Find your way around AutoCAD and LT
Understand the basic commands and how to set up a drawing
Apply AutoCAD's coordinate systems
Master drawing strategies
Employ Polar and Object Snap Tracking
Set up and manage layers, colors, and linetypes
Use blocks and Wblocks
Drag AutoCAD objects from one drawing to another
Generate elevations and orthographic views
Work with hatches and fills
Control text in a drawing
Manage external references
Set up layouts and print an AutoCAD drawing
Use AutoCAD's enhanced tool palettes
Create and render a 3D model
Posted on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Autodesk Subscription Customer Quick Reference
I am providing a download of a nice quick reference document for Autodesk Subscription customers. I believe all subscription customers will be receiving one of these as well as other stuff by mail in the near future.
Autodesk Subscription is the easiest way to keep your design tools and learning up-to-date. For an annual fee you get the latest versions of your licensed Autodesk software, web support direct from Autodesk, self-paced training options, and a broad range of other technology and business benefits. For more information, contact your local resellers or visit www.autodesk.com/subscription.
Download AutodeskSubCustomerQuickReference.pdf
Some of my blog posts on subscription benefits:
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, June 08, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, June 07, 2004
SnagIt 7.1 is Released!
I simply could not work as productively without SnagIt from techsmith.com. I use SnagIt daily for various tasks and image captures for various outputs like tutorials, articles, documentation and much much more.
I can even perform quick image editing tricks using just their built in Image Edit instead of firing up Fireworks or Photoshop.
And it is all for under $40 US. They are also a great bunch of people.
From their press release this morning:
"What's New? Increase your productivity with SnagIt 7.1! With the newest version of SnagIt, you can send your screen captures to more places, embellish your images with better effects, and greatly improve your work flow with SnagIt's many enhancements. Work quicker, work smarter - with SnagIt's essential new features. To list just a few . . .
Thank you Techsmith for keeping on producing and innovating SnagIt and Camtasia!
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, June 07, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The New AutoCAD 2005 Layer Manager and Filters
Lee Ambrosius of hyperpics.com and his blog "Beyond the UI" posted a good aticle on using the new AutoCAD 2005 layer dialog.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, June 07, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday, June 06, 2004
Great CAD Resource "RobiNZ Blog"
Robin Capper has a great blog going on CAD, Design, and other great stuff. Robin is located in New Zealand and is a CAD Manager for a retail company.
RobiNZ Blog: http://rcd.typepad.com
Example Articles:
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Sunday, June 06, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, June 05, 2004
AUGI Customization Corner - June 2004
Great article on Tool Palettes Lee Ambrosius of HyperPics.com.
"With AutoCAD 2005, Autodesk incorporated the Tool Palette Extension for those that were not on subscription and added support for Tables, along with additional improvements like Auxiliary Scale. I will talk about each of these individual tools in this and subsequent articles. "
Posted on Saturday, June 05, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, June 04, 2004
AUGI HotNews - June 2004
Welcome, Revit Users What happens when two dynamic user groups meet? Power and productivity. AUGI welcomes members of the Revit User Group International (RUGI) and participants in the Revit Forums at ZoogDesign.com to its first product community.
Autodesk Map 3D, a Q&A with David Salzberg David Salzberg, Customer Solution Manager, Communications & Utilities for Autodesk's Infrastructure Solutions Division answers questions about trends in the GIS/Mapping industry.
The NEW AUGI Forums Are Open New and enhanced features await AUGI members at the new Forums. Check 'em out!
Revit Redefines State of the Art Revit represents a step forward in architectural design tools.
Controlled Growth Creating shortcuts and streamlining AutoCAD.
Columns
President's Letter AUGI Outreach
TIPniques Brother, Can You Paradigm? Part II
Customization Corner Leveraging Tool Palettes
LUG Nuggets Volunteerism in the Volunteer State
Posted on Friday, June 04, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
More DWF vs. PDF
An inaccurate discussion group response of a competitor in response to their customers requesting DWF needs some perspective and correction. The person claimed that because AutoCAD cannot publish native PDF, that the DWF vs. PDF comparisons are not correct. Well, you can publish native PDF and in fact Adobe Acrobat Pro provides a native AutoCAD ARX for AutoCAD 2002 and AutoCAD 2004. This is just as native as the competitors PDF offering. In the case of producing a sample PDF and sample DWF using the same settings and sample drawing show the same DWF claims that DWF is smaller and faster.
All default settings for the two:
- AutoCAD 2004 Sample Drawing 8thFloor Layout 8th Floor Power Plan
- 400 DPI
- E Size plot 42" X 30"
- No Layer Info
- No Text
Adobe Acrobat Pro PDF Creator installed on AutoCAD 2004
Creating the PDF in AutoCAD 2004 using the built in Adobe Acrobat Pro PDFMaker
The PDF being created and optimized by the Adobe PDFMaker
Using the PUBLISH command in AutoCAD to produce a DWF of the same layout
at the same settings.
The Final PDF in Acrobat 6 Pro (also would be the same in the free viewer just the editing and mark up features not in the free product)
The Final DWF in DWF Composer (also would be the same in the free viewer just the editing and mark up features not in the free product)
And now for the good stuff...the results.
The PDF Results:
File Size:1.71 MB (1,797,473 Bytes)
The DWF Results:
File Size: 252 KB (258,048 bytes)
So there you have it the PDF at the same settings is 11 times the size and plots with no discernable difference. The resulting DWF was smaller and is almost always in most cases. There are many other DWF advantages as well such as such as a faster free viewer, much higher precision available with DWF up to 64million DPI, designed specifically for CAD data not text documents, open and freely available API toolkit unlike the PDF format, a free Windows System driver, able to be measured in the designs units not based on the distance in paper, higher visual fidelity such as supports line merge, able to be embedded/viewed/manipulated in a web page, and more.
So it boils down to you have options. Use what you prefer or have to deliver, but you should always be aware of more specialized and open formats designed specifically for the data you are exchanging. There is no one size fits all format and certainly not a 10 year old format designed only for text documents.
More DWF Related Posts
Quick Article on Design Document Communication with DWF
DWF Precision Follow Up
DWF Precision Article by Brian Mathews of the DWF Team
DWF-it!
Helpful Links
http://www.autodesk.com/dwf
http://www.autodesk.com/dwfcomposer
http://www.autodesk.com/dwfviewer
http://www.autodesk.com/autocad
http://www.autodesk.com/gofurther
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, June 04, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Alireza Parsai has an AutoCAD 2005 Seminar in Toronto Tonight!
Alireza will conduct a seminar about new features of AutoCAD 2005 for TRACE local user group in Toronto.
For more details: http://www.trends.ca/~trace/
Posted on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Great Blog Post by Lee Ambrosius "Don't talk smack... instead give back"
Lee Ambrosius of hyperpics.com and his blog Beyond the UI obviously had taken a large amount of time and thought in order to compose this article. He explains the various ways of reporting and providing feedback to Autodesk.
Link to Article "Don't talk smack... instead give back"
Many will just expect a software company to know about a problem and it will magically be fixed in the next service pack but that is really not based in reality. We need to understand the problem and in many cases to reproduce it in order to determine the appropriate solution. That is why Autodesk has developed the Customer Error Reporting in our products. With the Customer Error Reporting the details if you choose to send them come back to us and we research them. This method is far better than asking a million and one questions of a customer. Also make sure to fill in the details so we can contact you if needed to get further details or a sample file. The Customer Error Reporting helps everyone and is definitely better than doing nothing or the default Windows error reporting which submits to Microsoft, which many applications use but what is Microsoft going to do about a problem with an application that is not theirs, well not much. Just like other businesses we rely on feedback from the customers. So if you find a problem or something you feel should be changed, please let us know.
Helpful Links:
- Your Customer Error Reports Are Very Important
- Autodesk online defect submission system
- Send Feedback Direct to the AutoCAD Team
- Autodesk Usability and Beta Programs
- Between The Lines AutoCAD Wish List
- Spend Your $100 Survey for AutoCAD
Sincerely,
Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Autodesk University 2004: A Booster Shot for Your Brain
Mark your calendar and save the dates for Autodesk University® 2004—the premier Autodesk learning and networking event.
When: Tuesday, November 30 - Friday, December 3
Where: MGM Grand Conference Center, Las Vegas
There's nothing like Autodesk University (AU). We're talking about the "you-gotta-go" user conference for everyone who uses Autodesk® solutions and services.
Go to the AU website at http://www.autodesk.com/au for more information. Then start making plans to upgrade your brain at AU in Las Vegas. Registration opens in August.
Can You Hack It?
Keeping up with changes in technology is a challenge. Your job, your career, the success of your company all depend on it. At AU, you'll get the easy low-down on the latest tips, tools, and industry contacts to help you learn and grow. Whatever industry you work in—Manufacturing, GIS/Mapping, Civil Engineering, Infrastructure Management, or Building solutions—you'll learn the most efficient ways to create, share, and manage data throughout the life cycle of your projects.
A Booster Shot for Your Brain
The CAD Gurus, GIS Junkies, and Design Elite all attend Autodesk University. It's the place where the good go to get better. At AU, you'll learn from the best, get on top of industry trends, and obtain the training you need to compete and win.
The 12th annual AU features more classes and hands-on labs, the latest solutions from Autodesk and partners, and fun ways to connect with peers. You'll find this and more in 4 all-inclusive days designed to revolutionize the other 361.
Autodesk University 2004 . . . Are You Going?
Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
BlogJet Rocks!
If you have a blog, thn you should really check out BlogJet. BlogJet allows you to post to your blog but simplifies everything and allows more abilties in formatting and content than the standard web blog page entries do. It runs on your local machine and I even installed and tested the 30 day trial on my TabletPC.
It works for most blog host providers such as:
 Blogger b2 .Text pMachine |  TypePad MovableType Blogware DasBlog |  LiveJournal DeadJournal Blogger API MetaWeblog API |
Happy blogging!
Shaan
Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Creating AutoCAD 2004 Tool Palettes and Custom Tools
Ellen Finkelstein (who sends me cookies) wrote an article about creating and customizing Tool Palettes for AutoCAD 2004 awhile back. I thought I would point it out again after receiving a few emails on the subject. The AutoCAD 2004 Tool Palettes extension adds even more abilities and the same abilities are included in AutoCAD 2005.
Cheers,
Shaan
Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Perfect Paper Space, Part 2 by Lynn Allen
Lynn Allen has published her second part of the Perfect Paper Space series. Last month it was part 1 link here and now the latest.
"LAST MONTH WE DIPPED our toes into paper space. This month let's wade deeper into this tricky subject. AutoCAD 2005 relies heavily on paper space layouts to maximize the Sheet Set Manager capabilities, so you'll want to be an expert in this topic."
Link to the article on the Cadalyst website
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, May 15, 2004
AutoCAD® 2005 Sheet Set Best Practices White Papers
The following three white papers on AutoCAD® 2005 Sheet Set Best Practices are being posted to the Autodesk web site any day, but you get them here first.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Best Practices Series
Sheet Set Manager:
Introduction to the Series
Lynn Allen, Cadalyst columnist
Wouldn't it be nice if an entire project consisted of just one drawing sheet, which we could simply create, plot, and hand over to our client? Unfortunately, in the real world, our projects consist of multiple drawing sheets: sometimes 10, 50, 100 or over 1,000 drawing files per project. How do most of us keep track of all those drawing files? We use Microsoft® Windows® Explorer.
Best Practices Series - Part 1
Sheet Set Manager:
Organize Your Drawings
Dieter Schlaepfer, Autodesk, Inc.
You may have heard that the new Sheet Set Manager in AutoCAD® 2005 software can manage, publish, and transmit an entire group of project files. But did you know that you can use the Sheet Set Manager simply to organize and access your existing drawings much more effectively?There is almost no effort required, and you do not have to change the way you work!
Best Practices Series Part 2
Sheet Set Manager:
Create a List of Sheets Instantly
Heidi Hewett, Autodesk, Inc.
Most sets of drawings include a cover sheet or title sheet that has a list of all the sheets in the set. This list enables people to find design data throughout the set of drawings, so it must always be accurate. As you add, remove, or reorganize sheets, you continually modify the list of sheets to ensure that it is up to date.In AutoCAD® 2005, you can easily create a sheet list table with data that is extracted directly from the Sheet Set Manager. If you make changes to the sheet set, you can instantly update the sheet list table to reflect the changes.
Posted on Saturday, May 15, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Registration and Activation (Authorization) Codes: How does it work for Subscription?
All products on subscription are pre-registered to the Contract Manager named at the time the Subscription order is processed. When installing your product you will be required to obtain an activation code. When requesting an activation code for product installations and reinstallations, please be sure to have your Serial/Group ID number available (found on your product package).
Group—A subscription contract may contain one or more groups. A company may choose to have several groups. Groups can be used to organize a subscription contract in different ways—for example, by product, office location, or department. Groups may also be organized by deployment—one group with stand-alone versions of a product and another group with a network version. (It is not possible to combine stand-alone and network versions in the same group). Each group is assigned a Software Coordinator. All products within a group share the same serial, or Group ID, number.
Group ID Number— A group ID is the unique numerical identifier that is part of the overall group name. It is derived from the serial number used to validate the first subscription put into the group. Each product added to that group subsequently assumes the group number when upgrades are shipped.
Note: The contract number for the company is derived from the first group put on the contract.
A group name can be any 20 alphanumeric characters, designated by the Contract Manager, to provide a unique label for a group.
Example:
Group ID: 339-11235813 San Rafael
The Group ID should be used when requesting an activation code for any products shipped under subscription. The Group ID is referenced on the product package as Serial/Group ID.
IMPORTANT: Autodesk software may be installed as a network, stand-alone, or multiseat stand-alone deployment. There are some variations to the process that depend on the type of installation you have:
For more information on subscritipon, please go to http://www.autodesk.com/subscription
Posted on Thursday, May 13, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, May 08, 2004
AutoCAD Express Tools Tutorial from http://www.cadtutor.net
Some AutoCAD Express Tools are covered in Michael's online article:
You really should consider subscribing to his newsletter ‘The AutoCAD Toolbelt’.
Posted on Saturday, May 08, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, May 07, 2004
What are the differences between Autodesk Viz 2005 and 3DS Max 6?
Steven Papke of VizDepot.com has documented the main differences between the two products in a quick reference.
The Vizdepot is a great resource for those that create rendering and visualization using Autodesk Viz.
Posted on Friday, May 07, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
AUGI Customization Corner - May 2004
Autodesk User Group International has posted a nice article of tips on AutoCAD Switches written by and AutoCAD Guru and also one of the most experienced and feedback providing AutoCAD customers Lee Ambrosius.
Lee also has a blog for many great tips on AutoCAD titled "Beyond the UI".
http://hyperpics.blogs.com/beyond_the_ui/
"Last month, I finished the second installment of using and creating scripts for use with AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. Here, I’ll turn the attention from customizing inside of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT to the desktop shortcut. There are many options to get AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT start up. You have seen one of these options or switches in the previous articles about scripts. That switch was the /b switch, which allowed for the loading of a script when the desktop shortcut was used. This article investigates the many other switches available to you." Read More
Posted on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, May 01, 2004
Beyond Megapixels - Part II
Part II of the series on digital cameras by Joe Marney thetechlounge.com. Part I was posted last week and busted the "8 megapixel cameras are better" myth.
This is a very informative series for anyone using or looking at buying a new digital camera.
See some of my new daily grind images taken with my new Canon S1. I love this camera!
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Saturday, May 01, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Friday, April 30, 2004
White Paper: Best Practices for AutoCAD Migration
I have posted here the white paper "Best Practices for AutoCAD Migration" because a couple have had issues when downloading it from the Autodesk FTP server. This white paper covers many of the best practices to follow in order to make migrations much more easy.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, April 30, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Local AutoCAD Users Group Meeting Notice - San Francisco AutoCAD Users Group (SFAUG)
The next SFAUG meeting will take place on Monday, May 3rd and will be dedicated to AutoCAD. Shawn Gilmour from Autodesk will present the new release AutoCAD 2005.
Doorprizes
Time and place:
May 3rd, 6-8pm.
SFSU Downtown Center
425 Market Street, room 2601/2602
More Information on SFAUG see http://www.sfaug.org/
I will be there along with a few other Autodeskers to assist and answer any questions people may have. Please introduce yourself to me as I always enjoy meeting local users of Autodesk products and understanding how they use our products.
Don’t miss it.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, April 29, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Background Mask Tools for AutoCAD 2005 by Lee Ambrosius
Lee Ambrosius has written some tools to work with the new AutoCAD 2005 feature Background Masking and posted beta versions on his AutoCAD related blog "Beyond the UI". Lee is a wealth of information and tools for AutoCAD.
LInk to Lee's post with the download of the tools:http://hyperpics.blogs.com/beyond_the_ui/2004/04/background_mask_1.html
The tools:
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
New Autodesk Blog, In the Machine by the Autodesk Inventor Team
I would like to introduce and welcome the Inventor Team to the world of blogging. It was so easy to convince them of the value of blogging.
In The Machine Blog Link: http://autodesk.blogs.com/in_the_machine/
I am also working on other teams to start publishing tid bits of knowledge, tips and tricks, and product info to a blog. It is as easy as writing an email in an online mail program. The ability to immediately publish to an audience and it naturally spreads via aggregators and links around the world without any programming or red tape is powerful. It is like a view to the inside track with up to the minute fresh information in many cases. The blog also allows for some more personal contact with customers and fellow technology freaks. I cannot tell you how many emails I have received directly from this blog and the content but there have been many and some great friendships. It is also about benefiting the reader with tips and information they can use or were not aware of.
I just found out that many have started reading my blog on their Yahoo home pages as you can add a RSS feed on your Yahoo home page. Steven Papke of VizDepot.com was also going to add this blogs RSS feeds to his great Viz resource web site.
Cheers,
Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
AutoCAD 2005 Updated Migration Tools Released
The Autodesk web site has now been updated with the updated AutoCAD Migration Tools. There is also a migration best practices document.
Import your menus, toolbar items, and keyboard shortcuts (accelerators) from previous versions of AutoCAD into AutoCAD 2005.
Convert any AutoCAD or AutoCAD-based drawing file to AutoCAD Release 14, AutoCAD 2000, AutoCAD 2000i, AutoCAD 2002, AutoCAD 2004, and AutoCAD 2005 file formats.
Convert your customized menus, files, command aliases, and layer states, and script with greater ease.
Tools includedThe following four tools are included in the Autodesk Customization Conversion Tools download:
1. AutoLISP Compatibility Analyzer details AutoCAD® 2004 and AutoCAD® 2005 compatibility issues found in AutoLISP and Menu LISP files. AutoLISP Compatibility Analyzer searches for known AutoCAD 2004 and AutoCAD 2005 compatibility issues. When an issue is found, an explanation of the compatibility issue and suggestions on how to correct it are provided.
2. Command Alias (PGP) Porter designed to help you bring your custom command aliases from previous versions of AutoCAD into AutoCAD 2004 or AutoCAD 2005. You can also use this tool to add, replace, or remove command aliases from any AutoCAD PGP file.
3. ScriptPro takes AutoCAD scripting to a new level with an easy-to-use interface, logging, reusable project files, enhanced scripting with new keywords and utilities, and robust error recovery. Using ScriptPro you can apply a set of commands to multiple drawings by simply specifying a script file and the list of drawings that you would like to apply the script to.
4. Layer State Converter allows you to convert between the layer states created by LMAN (one of the AutoCAD® Express Tools) and the saved layer states introduced in AutoCAD® 2000i software. To use Layer State Converter, type one of the following commands on the AutoCAD command line:
CONVERTLS - Converts AutoCAD layer states to LMAN layer states.
CONVERTLMAN - Converts LMAN layer states to AutoCAD layer states.
Posted on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Monday, April 26, 2004
DotSoft ToolPac 8.0 for AutoCAD
Terry over at Dotsoft has done it once again with Toolpac 8.0 for AutoCAD. He has packed over 675 tools to increase productivity in AutoCAD into his new release of the popular ToolPac 8.0 for AutoCAD.
For more info see the ToolPac website:
http://www.dotsoft.com/toolpac.htm
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, April 26, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Alireza Parsai of cadpanel.com and AutoCAD 2005 Table Tutorial
Tutorial on the new AutoCAD 2005 feature, Tables.
by Alireza Parsai of http://www.cadpanel.com/
Click the following link to view the tutorial
http://www.cadpanel.com/trainees/2005tables/040425tables2005.htm
Thanks Alireza for all of your great tutorials available on your web site and caddigest.com.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, April 26, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, April 19, 2004
Successful Network Installation of AutoCAD in a Large Design Firm
New Whitepaper to be posted on http://www.autodesk.com/autocad in the next week or so.
A successful network installation of AutoCAD® 2004 and AutoCAD 2004–based software products depends not only on good planning, but also on sufficient testing of product functionality in a real-world business production environment. This white paper outlines considerations in successfully migrating from AutoCAD® 2000i to AutoCAD 2004 at Sasaki Associates, a large, multidisciplinary design firm with offices in Watertown, Massachusetts, and San Francisco, California, and about 160 CAD users companywide.
Posted on Monday, April 19, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Information by AutoCAD Bible Book Author Ellen Finkelstein
Check out the updated information from Ellen Finkelstein on AutoCAD 2005 at her website. Ellen is the author of the very popular AutoCAD Bible books.
Features Shown:
Tables
Fields
Sheet Sets
Command tool palettes
Layer groups and descriptions
Text background masks
Trimming hatches and hatching almost closed areas
Plotting in the background
ZOOM Object option
New COPY command default
http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/autoCAD.html
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, April 14, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Avatech Solutions - Autodesk Product eDemos
Check out the Avatech Solutions eDemo list.
Examples of the available eDemos which are web videos that play in the Windows Media Player:
A first look at the latest version of AutoCAD. Find out how new features and capabilities are going to help your bottom line in this exclusive new demonstration.
See the benefits of AutoCAD Electrical in this demonstration by one of our technical experts. He'll show you the intelligent electrical controls design, the automation of the electrical controls design process, and how AutoCAD electrical is the fast, flexible, and easy solution to your Electrical design needs.
Building Systems Test Drive Webcast Recording
Avatech gets you on the road to success with this session to show you the best features of Building Systems . Before you get behind the wheel of Building Systems we’ll steer you through:Best practices for a speedy implementation of new software
Tips and tricks of Building Systems
A sneak-peak of the workshop on the 30-day trial software
Revit Test Drive Webcast Recording
Avatech gets you on the road to success with this session to show you the best features of Revit . Before you get behind the wheel of Revit we’ll steer you through:Best practices for a speedy implementation of new software
Tips and tricks of Revit
A sneak-peak of the workshop on the 30-day trial software
Inventor Test Drive Webcast Recording
Avatech gets you on the road to success with this session to show you the best features of Inventor. Before you get behind the wheel of Inventor we’ll steer you through:Best practices for a speedy implementation of new software
Tips and tricks of Inventor
A sneak-peak of the workshop on the 30-day trial software
Revit Webcast Recording Available
If you’re not familiar with Autodesk Revit, this streaming presentation is the perfect opportunity to gain in-depth understanding of its many revolutionary features, including:Parametric change technology—when you make a change anywhere in your building project, it’s automatically updated everywhere
Fluid interaction with other Autodesk software
Immediate increase in productivity
Superior design and documentation capabilities View Part 1 of the presentation
View Part 2 of the presentation
View Part 3 of the presentation
Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, April 09, 2004
HIDE in AutoCAD® and Architectural Desktop 2004 - 2005 Article by archidigm.com
Nice online article showing the HIDE command options and results.
Also check out the site http://www.archidigm.com
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, April 09, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Combining Autodesk Network Licenses
Are you aware that you can combine multiple network licenses into one license? If you have a mix of network licensed products, you can combine them into a single license file for running a mix of licensed products or releases.
This could also be the products you upgraded in Autodesk Subscription program. Then when you roll out the new version you could continue to use the prior release until all your users have migrated or moved to a new project to start the new release.
Knowledge Base Article from http://support.autodesk.com
Link to Knowlege Base Article
http://support.autodesk.com/getDoc.asp?id=TS65928
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Grab Bag April 2004 by Michael Beall of cadtutor.net
Michael Beall of cadtutor.net has posted his April 2004 Grab Bag of tips and tricks for AutoCAD. It is definitely a nice resource for tips and he has a very easily digestible approach to training. He also has a newsletter titled The AutoCAD Toolbelt which is also a very worthwhile and valuable AutoCAD resource.
http://www.cadtutor.net/acad/index.html
Cheers,
-Shaan
Update:
Cadtutor.net is actually run by David Watson, a CAD professor at University of Greenwich in England and Michael writes some content for this site.
Posted on Wednesday, April 07, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, April 01, 2004
UK Architecture Firm Specializing in Timber Framing Using ADT
Chris Yanchar wrote a very nice blog article on Timber Framing and ADT. It is always amazing to see what our customers do with our products and their success.
If you have an exciting or interesting use of our products or the products you design using our products, send me an email at [email protected] with the subject line of "Blog" and the details and I will spotlight it in this far reaching blog with thousands of unique readers per day. This is the most active CAD/Autodesk related blog currently on the web.
Here are some screenshots (click thumbnail for larger image):
The Link to the Blog "Between the Walls" article
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, April 01, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
New Plotting and Page Setup Changes in AutoCAD 2005 Video Demo by Sterling Systems
Sterling Systems has produced a free online video demonstration showing some changes to the Plotting and Page Setups for the newly released AutoCAD 2005.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, March 29, 2004
Great AutoCAD/AUGI Resource With Some Really Good AutoCAD 2005 Articles
The current AUGIWorld Magazine Issue for March/April 2004 is out and defintely worth a read especially for the AutoCAD 2005 articles explaining some of the new features with tips and tricks. There is also a good CAD Salary Survey in this issue.
Link to PDF of the AUGIWorld March April 2004 Issue
Hosted by Lee Ambrosius of hyperpics.com the author of many of the great articles.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, March 29, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Nice Online Demo of Tips and Tricks with AutoCAD 2005 by Sterling Systems
Sterling Systems has produced a free online video demonstration showing some nice tips and tricks for the newly released AutoCAD 2005. This is worth a few minutes to see some of the lesser known new features of AutoCAD 2005.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, March 29, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday, March 14, 2004
Computer Maintenance and Viruses
Lee Ambrosius has written a nice article on Computer Maintenance and Viruses. It is great tips to keep your machines safe and running smooth. I have written some tips along the same lines as well. It is well worth reading up especially with all of the virus threats out there now.
Links to past articles on the subject by me:
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Sunday, March 14, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, March 12, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Preview Online Demo by Avatech
Avatech Solutions posted a nice online video presentation of AutoCAD 2005. CHeck it out and see some of the new features of AutoCAD 2005 before the product ships on March 22nd 2004.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, March 12, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
AutoCAD 2005 First Impressions by Robert Green of Cadalysts CAD Manager's Newsletter
Robert's email newsletter is definitely worthwhile subscribing to as he discusses very common CAD Manager Issues and information.
"I've been working with AutoCAD 2005 for a couple of months now, and I believe it's the best AutoCAD release since Release 14. AutoCAD 2005 does some things that should have been done a while ago (we'll get to those shortly) while making compelling strides in usability and interface construction."
Read the entire article by Robert Green Click Here
Cheers,
-Shaan just 2 days more until I go to Brazil!
Posted on Friday, March 12, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Tutorial on the New Fields Feature by Alireza Parsai
AutoCAD 2005 offers many interesting features such as Sheet Set Manager, enhanced Tool Palettes, enhanced drafting tools, Tables, and Fields. Fields are specialized text objects set up to display data that may change during the life cycle of the drawing. When a field is updated the latest value is shown on the screen. In this tutorial you will learn how to use fields in your drawings.
Tutorial Link: Click Here
Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Lynn Allen's AutoCAD 2005 Tips & Tricks Preview - March 2004
My fellow Autodesker and buddy Lynn Allen has provided a sneak peek at her new book to AUGI members.
From AUGI:
An AUGI Exclusive! Lynn Allen, Cadalyst columnist and Autodesk Technical Evangelist, is giving AUGI members an exclusive preview of some of the time-saving features in the new AutoCAD 2005 software. Lynn’s new desktop reference guide “Lynn Allen’s Top 10 Tips for AutoCAD 2005” is not even on press yet, but we got her to share some insights.
Lynn Allen’s Top 10 Tips for AutoCAD® 2005 Software
Tip # 1: Step Savers Click Here
Read on the AUGI website and become a member if you are not already a member of AUGI.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AUGI March 2004 Letter from the 2004 AUGI President Marv Muston
Autodesk User Group International 2004 President Marv Muston posted a Letter and listed it in the latest AUGI Hot News. AUGI is always looking for volunteers usisng all Autodesk products. Share your knowledge and contribute to a great organization.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AUGI TIPniques - March 2004 - TIPniques - Object Selection, Part III
Autodesk User Group International has posted a nice article of tips on AutoCAD Object Selection written by AutoCAD Top Gun Winner for Autodesk University 2002 and also now an AUGI Board Member Chris Lindner. Definitly worth the reading as it explains many of the different methods of selecting objects in AutoCAD.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AUGI Customization Corner - March 2004
Autodesk User Group International has posted a nice article of tips on Script Files Customizing AutoCAD written by and AutoCAD Guru and also one of the most experienced and feedback providing AutoCAD customers Lee Ambrosius.
Lee also has a blog for many great tips on AutoCAD titled "Beyond the UI".
http://hyperpics.blogs.com/beyond_the_ui/
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Tips from Lee and Lee's new blog!
Check out AutoCAD Customer Extraordinaire, Lee Ambrosius and his new AutoCAD related blog! Beyond the UI
Great article there on what Lee's favorite new AutoCAD 2005 feature is Click Here
Also Getting the Most out of Editing in a Viewport (VPMAX / VPMIN) Click Here
Lee Ambrosius
HyperPics, http://www.hyperpics.com
Blog: http://hyperpics.blogs.com/beyond_the_ui
Congratulations Lee!
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, March 09, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday, March 07, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Tip Enabling/Disabling the Node snapping for Mtext objects
http://hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/mtext_node_snapping.htm
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Sunday, March 07, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, March 06, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Tip Changing the Draw Order of Text that is using Background Mask from Lee at hyperpics.com
"AutoCAD 2005 introduces many new features from Sheet Set Manager to Tables and Mtext with Background Masking. Background Masking is a great tool that can be used to hide geometry below text. .."
Read more at the link below
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/texttofront.htm
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Saturday, March 06, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, March 04, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Tip Enabling/Disabling the Taskbar Feature in AutoCAD from Lee at hyperpics.com
"Since Office 2000 Microsoft has been using a "Windows in Taskbar" feature with its Office products. A similar feature has been added to AutoCAD 2005 and is nice if you normally only have a couple drawings open at a time. It allows you to quickly switch between open drawings..." read more at the link below
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/taskbar_feature.htm
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, March 04, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
Beau Turner - Fan of AutoCAD/ADT 2005 Fields
Beau Turner writes in his blog "Will Render for Food" that he really likes the Fields feature of AutoCAD 2005.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AutoCAD 2005 Features & Benefits Document
This PDF document discusses some of the benefits and the problems solved with AutoCAD 2005.
PDF AutoCAD Features and Benefits Link
Example from the document:
"Archiving Problem
To archive project documents, organizations typically must copy individual drawing files from one folder to another. Storing multiple versions of drawing files increases the risk of using incorrect or out-of-date project information.
Solution
The Sheet Set Manager produces and stores copies automatically, providing a more dependable method for archiving project data.
Benefit
Automatically archiving the sheet makes it easy to revisit project milestones. In addition, it ensures that you work with pertinent data and minimizes the chance for mistakes caused by storing multiple versions of drawing files."
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Comparing AutoCAD 2005 with Prior Releases of AutoCAD
There is now a White Paper posted comparing features of AutoCAD 2005 with prior releases.
PDF White Paper Link
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, March 01, 2004
Shaan's Unofficial AutoCAD History Page Updated for AutoCAD 2005
I have now updated my Unofficial AutoCAD History site to include AutoCAD 2005 information and links to the command and system variables resources now maintained by Lee Ambrosius of HyperPics.
Shaan's AutoCAD 2005 Info Page
http://betaprograms.autodesk.com/history/autocad_2005_history.htm
Commands and System Variables
http://betaprograms.autodesk.com/history/command-map.htm
AutoCAD 2005
The Evolution of Design Technology
As design evolves, so does design technology. The AutoCAD 2005 platform represents new heights of productivity, not just in terms of speed and power. But also in terms of more effective ways of managing the project information that is encapsulated in your final documentation.
The New Standard in CAD Productivity
A new standard in CAD productivity began with the AutoCAD® 2004 platform, giving users measurable efficiency gains, like 52 percent smaller file sizes and up to 70 percent increased productivity.* AutoCAD 2005 and product based on AutoCAD 2005 build on the speed and power of the 2004 platform with new tools like the Sheet Set Manager that move beyond single drawing productivity to include the efficient creation, management, and sharing of entire sets of related drawings.
From Single Drawings to Entire Sets of Related Drawings
Design projects can require hundreds or even thousands of drawing files. And each file can have multiple layouts depicting different views or scales of project data. Manually managing sheet sets using a file or folder structure on a local disk drive or network server is time-consuming and error prone. Introducing the Sheet Set Manager for AutoCAD and AutoCAD-based software. It expands beyond single drawing productivity to the efficient creation, management, and sharing of entire sets of related drawings. How does it work? You can use the Sheet Set Manager to
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, March 01, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AutoCAD 2005 Discussion Group both NNTP and Web based are live.
http://discussion.autodesk.com
The web based discussion group is located:
http://discussion.autodesk.com/forum.jspa?forumID=136
The NNTP link for the AutoCAD 2005 discussion group is:
news://discussion.autodesk.com/autodesk.autocad.2005
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, March 01, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, February 27, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Tip: Ignoring Hatch objects with running Object snaps from Lee of Hyperics.com
Ignoring Hatch objects when using running Object snaps
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/osnaphatch.htm
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, February 27, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, February 26, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Article: "Improved workflow for drafting, design pros"
"Improved workflow for drafting, design pros
BY P. ANGELINA
AUTODESK Inc has unveiled the latest version of its AutoCAD software for 2D drafting and design, and basic 3D visualisation.
AutoCAD 2005 has been enhanced to allow customers to better manage and publish sheet sets (drawings), and communicate project information for mark-up and review, said Autodesk design solutions division product management manager Shawn Gilmour. " cont...
Read the full online article:
Click Here
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, February 26, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
828 Tips and Tricks Currently from cadforum.cz
This is an awesome resource to bookmark for Tips and Tricks for all Autodesk Products especially AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor. They are also very knowledgable and helpful people located in the Czech Republic.
The Link from CAD Studio's CadForum.cz:
http://www.cadforum.cz/cadforum_en/default.asp?tab=2
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, February 26, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
AutoCAD 2004 Tip from Lee of Hyperpics.com
Saving AutoCAD 2004 drawings back down to R14 format
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/dwgconvertor.htm
Customizing the Status Bar at the Bottom of AutoCAD 2004 & uphttp://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/customize_statusbar.htm
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, February 25, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, February 23, 2004
New Autodesk Blog! Between the Walls by Chris Yanchar of the ADT Team
Fellow Desker Chris Yanchar of the Architectural Desktop team now has a blog. I forced him into this fun side-work project as I know he is perfect for the task and does not sleep just like me.
http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_walls/
Make sure to bookmark his blog.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Steven Papke's Vizdepot.com Posts AutoCAD and ADT 2005 Articles
Check out what Steven likes about the upcoming releases.
http://www.vizdepot.com/showarticle.php?s=&threadid=164
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, February 21, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Sheet Set Description and Exercises and Features from Ellen Finkelstein
Ellen Finkelstein has posted a list of AutoCAD 2005 features and more coming soon as well as new books:
Click Here
She has also posted a Sheet Set Description and Exercises. Of course you must have the AutoCAD 2005 to go through the exercises.
Click Here
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Saturday, February 21, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, February 20, 2004
Product Activation Information Site is Now Live
Autodesk has now gone live with a product activation website.
http://www.autodesk.com/activation.
Some who have heard the announcement that like the customers outside of North America for years that AutoCAD 2005 will include the product activation in North America as well. The activation is not the old Cdilla technology and is very transparent and well received during beta testing and other products. You can also still install per the license agreement at home and work for your standalone installation.
Unfortunately, some with ulterior motives have tried to stir the pot with incorrect information or unsubstantiated rumors before the product has even been released. Product activation has been used in discreet 3ds studio Max, Revit, and all trial and student versions of AutoCAD for a few years. The technology has been improved and made as transparant as possible to not inconvenience our customers. Many other companies use the same technology like the latest released products from Adobe, Macromedia, and Symantec and many many more. Many other CAD software packages use similar product locking including Bentley, Solidworks, PTC, and many others. While the reason for implementing this into North America is not that others do it, we do understand concerns and have attempted to provide a wealth of product activation information to alleviate any concerns.
There is a link to submit feedback and questions on the activation web site (http://www.autodesk.com/activation).
Sincerely,
Shaan Hurley
Posted on Friday, February 20, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
AutoCAD 2005 Article from Cadalyst Magazine
Cadalyst magazine wrote brief article on the upcoming AutoCAD 2005.
Link
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 2004 AUGI HotNews Articles
New AUGI Hotnews
Covers The following:
Blocks and Templates
Scripts
Aliases
Toolbars (Part of Menu file)
Pulldowns/Pop Ups (Part of Menu file)
Design Center
Tool Palettes
Link
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Tenlinks.com Announcement on AutoCAD 2005
Autodesk Introduces AutoCAD 2005 Family of Products
Cheers,
-Shaan (in Baltimore)
Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AutoCAD 2005 and 2005 Based Products Announced "Go Further"
Official Autodesk 2005 Preview Site
http://www.autodesk.com/preview2005
AutoCAD 2005 Preview Guide - PDF
AutoCAD® 2005 Information
Creating a single drawing as efficiently as possible is important. Delivering a coordinated set of drawings in a timely manner directly benefits your bottom line. With AutoCAD® 2005 you can do both. Everyday tools like the table object and tool palettes boost productivity, and the new Sheet Set Manager helps you control content across entire sets of related drawings, enabling you to lower the risk for errors. Then, in a single view, you can compose and collate sheet sets and share them with your project team using plots, eTransmit, or DWF™ (Design Web Format™) files.
AutoCAD 2005 System Requirements
Intel® Pentium® III or later, with 800 MHz or faster processor, or compatible Microsoft® Windows® XP (Professional, Home Edition, or Tablet PC Edition), Windows® 2000 Professional 256 MB RAM (recommended) 300 MB free disk space for installation 1024x768 VGA with true color (minimum) Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 CD-ROM drive Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing deviceAutoCAD 2005 Customer Quotes
David Stein, AMSEC LLC The new table entities and table features are awesome! We develop software for the shipbuilding industry and their design processes demand tables of all sorts and shapes. This new functionality makes our jobs (as well as the jobs of our end-users) much easier and more productive.Darren J. Young, Cold Spring Granite Company
This next release of AutoCAD is one of the best releases to date. The Sheet Set Manager and Field features are robust and just plain well thought out. By utilizing these features, as well as the table objects, users will see tremendous productivity gains. I don't know that I've seen a release whose new features have the potential to impact such a large segment of the AutoCAD user base across all disciplines in such a huge way.Steven D. Papke, KBJ Architects, Inc.
I really can't say enough good things about the new layers dialog box. I really appreciate the count of the layers displayed versus what is in the drawing. The design delivers information in a manner which is very simple, straightforward and intuitive.Brian Allen, McKEOWN INC.
The next version of AutoCAD has the best feature set of any AutoCAD release since AutoCAD 2000. The use of fields alone will save our company huge amounts of time. When we use fields with the new tables feature, we’re able to quickly produce material lists, legends or notes. The Sheet Set Manager is also a great time saver - no more searching directories for drawings that are related to the current project, it's all part of the sheet set now.Darren Myles, LHT Ltd. (New Zealand)
The latest version of AutoCAD provides the answers to some of the workflow issues that I have been trying to resolve for some time. The sheet set manager, fields and tables will improve consistency and accuracy of drawing information."Robert Pappas, Norfolk (Virgina) Redevelopment and Housing Authority
Sheet Sets are an extremely efficient way to organize the project drawings. By keeping all the drawings sheets in one place and automating the information in the title block, the Sheet Set Manager creates a consistent and easily managed set of project drawings that can be transmitted with ease, through either DWF or traditional internet formats.
AutoCAD LT® 2005 Information
With AutoCAD LT® 2005 you can easily create, plot, publish, and share your 2D designs. You get more done in fewer steps with a streamlined plotting interface and drafting features that boost your productivity. Quickly create tables, better manage large groups of layers, and conveniently access frequently used content to work more efficiently. Sharing your data widely is a snap: even team members without AutoCAD LT software can view and mark up your published DWF™ files, and you can instantly distribute multiple DWG files in a single step. Plus background plotting frees you to work while you print out your drawings.New Table Functionality
Tool Palette Enhancements
Easier Layer Management
Enhanced Multiline Text Editing and New Symbols
Simplified Publishing
Easy Data Sharing with DWF Files
Streamlined Publishing to DWF
Working with AutoCAD 2005 Users
What are the key differences between AutoCAD LT 2005 and AutoCAD 2005?
Both the AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005 software programs use the same software architecture and technology, and both create the same native DWG file format and the new DWF™ (Design Web Format™) file format. Both products offer collaboration functionality that enriches, expands, and simplifies your design processes to save time and money. But AutoCAD 2005 provides additional capabilities in the following key areas:3D capabilities
Sheet set management
Customization (LISP, ARX, VBA)
Presentation graphics
CAD standards management
Network licensing
Links and More Info
What's New in 2005 PDFReferences updated for 2005:
AutoCAD Quick Guide Reference PDF
System Variables Quick Guide PDF
System Variables General Overview PDF
Environment Variables Quick Guide PDF
Environment Variables General Overview PDF
Command Quick Guide PDF
www.jtbworld.com/autocad2005.htm
http://www.dotsoft.com/acad2005.htm
http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/blog/2004/02/top_10_whats_ne.html
http://www.upfrontezine.com/2004/upf-373.htm
http://www.cadxp.com/
http://www.cadxp.com/Downloads+index-req-getit-lid-225.html
http://www.yucad.com/neo.htm
Do you have a link to an AutoCAD 2005 or based product? Send me an email with the link.
Do you have a question regarding AutoCAD 2005? If so post your question as a comment to this blog entry. I will try to answer when I can as I am traveling this week.
More details, images, tips and tricks, articles, and resources very soon as there will be a lot of press articles and more over the next day.
Trivia tidbit on the AutoCAD 2005 image. It is the Yokohama Ferry Terminal in Japan.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Sunday, February 15, 2004
Some AutoCAD 2004 online tutorial videos from APEX Web Media
I just found this site in a web search. They have some online video tutorials on AutoCAD 2004.
Tutorials available:
AutoCAD and Architecture
The GUI and Windows
Customizing the Interface
Drawing Lines
Starting a New Drawing
Saving a Drawing
Drawing Straight Lines
Modify Commands
Zoom Commands
Pan and Zoom Features
Selecting Objects/Entities
Grips
Develop Drawing Style
Sketch File
Format Units and Point of Origin
Drawing Exact Length Lines
Save and Offset Lines
Copy Lines and Object Snap
Using Object Snaps
Save and Trim Command
Trim and Undo
Fillet Command
UCS Icon and Distance Command
Circle and Move Command
Line and Trim Command
Drawing Comments and Close File
Click Here for the site.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Sunday, February 15, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, February 13, 2004
Subscription Customer Benefit e-Learning Content
e-Learning features are self-paced lessons that are a quick and convenient way to learn Autodesk software. Each lesson usually takes 15 to 30 minutes to complete and includes hands-on exercises so you can practice what you've learned.
Autodesk subscription customers that renewed or enrolled since September 2003 have access to the e-Learning content for:
Managing Your Workspace
Project Support and Drawing Management
In-Place Editing and Mass Elements
Materials and Visualization
VIZ Render
Catalog Feedback
Drafting and Productivity Tools
Xref Enhancements, Presentation, and Publishing
Drawing Management Tools
Creating and Opening Drawings
Catalog Feedback
More coming online very soon.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Thursday, February 12, 2004
More AutoCAD Tips & Tricks Links
AutoCAD 2004 Tips and Tricks
Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, February 09, 2004
AUGI TIPniques - January 2004 - Object Selection Revisited
Autodesk User Group International has posted a nice article of tips on AutoCAD Object Selection written by AutoCAD Top Gun Winner for Autodesk University 2002 and also now an AUGI Board Member Chris Lindner. Definitly worth the reading as it explains many of the different methods of selecting objects in AutoCAD.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, February 09, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday, February 08, 2004
AUGI - Customizing AutoCAD - January 2004
Autodesk User Group International has posted a nice article on Customizing AutoCAD written by AutoCAD Guru and also one of the most experienced and feedback providing AutoCAD customers Lee Ambrosius.
Definitly worth the reading.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Sunday, February 08, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, February 07, 2004
Expert AutoCAD Q&A Articles
Here is a great list of articles from Lynn Allen of Autodesk on various AutoCAD tips and tricks.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Saturday, February 07, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, February 06, 2004
My Migrating to AutoCAD 2004 White Paper
Just mentioning the AutoCAD 2004 White Paper "Migrating to AutoCAD 2004" I wrote last year to assist CAD manangers and other customers migrating.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, February 06, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, February 05, 2004
More About the Blog "Between the Lines"
Blogs (short for "weblogs") date back to the beginning of the web.
What is a Blog?
While not everything is the official Autodesk opinion, endorsement, or recommendation, it is a blog from an Autodesk employee. This approach provides direct contact between customers and Autodesk personnel most familiar with our products. It is one effect method in breaking down the wall that separates customers from those in Autodesk. I think the visitors get the feeling of content that may be more informal and timely. You never really know what I will post up here and that adds to some of the draw in my opinion.
Our customers enjoy seeing more of a face to those here at Autodesk. At Autodesk we develop products that many of these customers use daily for many hours. In much of the information they see from Autodesk there may not really be a personal view, insight or connection. I also try to point out potential new trends in technology such as the new TabletPC and what that can mean to you in the field when you want to view or mark up drawings easily.
Autodesk already has some very great marketing and tips and tutorial content on the web and in print, so I am not out to mimic that but add quick bit size nuggets of information that may interest them in our products as well as technology or resources.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, February 05, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AutoCAD Tips: Macros
Ralph Grabowski of UpFront eZine and the new blog WorldCADAccess wrote a nice answer to a readers question on what a macro is. I also added some very helpful tutorial links to the bottom of this posting.
"Q: Would you please tell me what macros are please?
- student.ul.ie
A: A macro is anything more than a single command. For example, in AutoCAD you zoom into a windowed area with the ZOOM command, followed by the W option. When you assign that to a menu item or a toolbar button, "zoom w" is called a macro.
A macro can consist of just a command and an option, as shown above, or consist of many commands, their options, and other programming code (AutoCAD macros can include Diesel expressions and AutoLISP functions).
Macros often include additional code to make sure it works under all conditions. For example, "^C^C^C" is added as a prefix to cancel any AutoCAD command still running, while the _ (underscore) is added to ensure the macro works with any language version of AutoCAD (German, Japanese, and so on).
Programs other than AutoCAD don't necessarily allow macros; instead, they have their own programming interfaces, or might require you to learn VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) to write the equivalent of macros." http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/blog/2004/02/tips_macros.html
Helpful resources on macros for AutoCAD:
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, February 05, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, February 02, 2004
Need Expert Help for Computer or Programming Issues?
This is not an ad, sponsor link, or official recomendation, but a resource I have used when chasing a problem on a computer, programming, or a server issue I cannot solve. You can search for solutions to thousands of problems on the site. If you pay the very small membership fee as I did you can get answers in almost seconds to your problems. In fact they have a contests for points for the first person to answer and solve the problem. It has been active for years and has thousands of experts on many computer issues. You never know when you need experts on a computer issue, but when you do, this place is a great place to start besides the free resources like Microsoft Online Knowledge Base or for Autodesk use the Autodesk Online Knowledge Base or discussion groups.
http://www.experts-exchange.com/
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, February 02, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday, February 01, 2004
Great Resource on DHTML, CSS, Standards, and More
I found a very nice resource blog on DHTML, CSS,web standards, and much much more named DHTML Nirvana. If you are into web development and standards, or use DreamWeaver like I do, have a read and bookmark the blog.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Sunday, February 01, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, January 30, 2004
New Autodesk Revit 6 Release Review by AECbytes
There is a good review of the newly released Autodesk Revit 6.
In the article there is a big project screen shot image of a project in Australia in AECbytes.
http://www.aecbytes.com/review/Revit_6.htm
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, January 30, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Helpful AutoCAD Solutions for Corrupted Drawings
Corrupted drawings unfortunately occur for a wide variety of reasons such as a bad network or hardware, operating system issues, media degradation like files on old disks, unexpected data or defect, a 3rd party application, or a non Autodesk product saving a DWG file. Here are a couple solutions to assist in recovering the files.
Recover damaged drawing files
http://support.autodesk.com/getDoc.asp?id=TS67106
Difference between AUDIT and RECOVER commands
http://support.autodesk.com/getDoc.asp?id=TS54343
Recovering a damaged drawing if the RECOVER command is not successful
http://support.autodesk.com/getDoc.asp?id=TS19369
Using DesignCenter to recover a drawing and retain layouts
http://support.autodesk.com/getDoc.asp?id=TS43354
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, January 30, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Friday, January 23, 2004
Wow! Some Really Nice Architectural Desktop "ADT" Examples
Autodeskers Chris Yanchar and Julian Gonzalez of the Autodesk Architectural Desktop "ADT" team showed me some really nice examples of the power of their product. Of course I have to mention ADT is built on AutoCAD as a platform for the architectural specific industry.
You can find many awesome examples posted by ADT users in the discussion groups:
Autodesk Architectural Desktop Customer Gallery
Other discussion groups both web based and news reader and hopefully soon by RSS syndicated feeds.
http://discussion.autodesk.com
ADT Discssion group list where many ADT Team members also participate in the active discussions with cusomters.
Some Awesome Examples of ADT Users Work:
HOK S+V+E: Kansas City Stadium
HOK S+V+E: Kansas City Ballpark
HOK S+V+E Kansas City School Stadium
GEPA Bruneck: Italy
Wow!........
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, January 23, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Free Plot Utilities for AutoCAD
This tool provides a way to export a CTB or STB plot style tables to a comma-delimited text file. You can then import the comma-delimited text file into a spreadsheet program (for example, Microsoft Excel) and print the file or compare it with others. You can also print the text file directly.
This tool provides a way to export a PCP file from a CTB plot style table.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, January 23, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Thursday, January 22, 2004
AutoCAD 2004 Migration Utilities - For Free and also Very Helpful
Are you aware there is a free download of Migration related utilities for AutoCAD 2004?
Link: http://www.autodesk.com/migrationtools
The list of Migration Tools and descriptions:
Autodesk® Batch Drawing Converter 2004 converts any AutoCAD or AutoCAD-based drawing file to AutoCAD Release 14, AutoCAD 2000, AutoCAD 2000i, AutoCAD 2002, and AutoCAD 2004 file formats. Autodesk Batch Drawing Converter allows conversion of pen widths to lineweights and the addition of page setups. Note: Autodesk Batch Drawing Converter 2004 is available in Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, and Spanish.
For AutoCAD 2004 and AutoCAD 2004–based products (except AutoCAD LT), these Autodesk® Customization Conversion tools allow you to convert your customized menus, files, command aliases, and layer states, and they allow you to script with greater ease.
AutoLISP Compatibility Analyzer details AutoCAD 2004 compatibility issues found in AutoLISP® and Menu LISP files. When an issue is found, an explanation of the compatibility issue and suggestions on how to correct it are provided.
In order to use many of these utilities, you will need AutoCAD 2004 installed as they use some of the files from the installed AutoCAD.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, January 22, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Monday, January 19, 2004
Some Great AutoCAD Tips!
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/autohide_palettes.htm
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/cleanscreen.htm
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/peditaccept.htm
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/cycle_through_tabs.htm
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/3_ways_to_exit_mtexted.htm
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/qnew.htm
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/template_at_startup.htm
Tips Provided By:
Lee Ambrosius
HyperPics, http://www.hyperpics.com
Do you have some AutoCAD Tips to Share? Email them to me at [email protected] with the email subject line of "AutoCAD Tips for the Blog".
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, January 19, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, January 12, 2004
Online Autodesk® DWF™ Writer Video Tutorial by CAD-1.com
CAD-1.com has posted an online streaming video tutorial on the Autodesk® DWF™ Writer (http://www.autodesk.com/dwfwriter). They show how to use it and discuss uses for it to print from any windows application to the DWF format.
http://www.cad-1.com/tips&tricks_janfebvid-04.htm
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, January 12, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Delete Layer Filters Fast with AutoCAD 2004
Prior to AutoCAD 2004, if you pasted a block or inserted into a drawing the layer filters from the block would also come along. In some cases the drawings would get quite a few layer filters. Customers pointed out this problem and we changed the behavior in AutoCAD 2004. No longer do layer filters come in with blocks whether pasted or inserted. Also you can easily now select or delete all filters in the drawing. No more need for a custom LISP to do this.
We Listen
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, January 12, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, January 05, 2004
Welcome to CAD Industry writer Ralph Grabowski to the world of blogs
Welcome aboard the blogging phenominon with WorldCAD Access - Talking about CAD. I would like to think including my blog link in an email before Christmas may have inspired you in some simple way to look at the technology.
What will happen to the weekly email ezine UpFront eZine?
I surely would not want to lose either option. I look forward to checking your blog by visiting and also with an RSS aggregator when you get around to enabling a RSS feed. Imagine your new slogan "On your desktop, within a minute, piping hot and fresh CAD News".
Sincerely,
Shaan
Posted on Monday, January 05, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, December 26, 2003
Live Chat Support & Beta Testing
I just added throughout the entire Autodesk Beta website the ability to chat with a beta team member when Traci or I are online. This was done to allow for easy answers quick and fast for visitors interested in beta testing or involved in beta testing with a question. So far in its first week it was a success and well received by all who have tried it thus far. It is really nice and fun to chat with visitors from around the world on many different beta topics. This adds one more personal point of contact for Autodesk and their customers. While Autodesk is shut down for the holidays until the 5th of January I will be online on the chat when I can so give it a try. You can find the chat link below as well as on almost every main web page at http://betaprograms.autodesk.com
http://betaprograms.autodesk.com/chat/chat.htm
Also make sure if you would like to be considered for the next release of AutoCAD beta testing to get your voice heard direct to the developers and designers, then go to http://betaprograms.autodesk.com/au for a limited time.
Happy holidays and spread the word of the blog and let me know if there is something you would like discussed in here or have a tip to contribute.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, December 26, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, December 15, 2003
Autodesk Discussion Groups are Back Up and with a New Look!
I mentioned last week (here) the planned outage of the public discussion groups for updates. Well the discussion groups are once again live and thriving with activity. I am sure many thousands of lurkers to the groups were going through withdrawals during the weekend.
This is the most widely used Autodesk product resource I personally know of.
The groups are available for both web and NNTP for newsreaders. There will also be some RSS feeds coming.
http://discussion.autodesk.com/index.jspa
Summary of changes:
Newsreader (nntp) access has not changed.
Web-based (http) experience has been improved to include:
- Watches: ability to monitor threads and receive e-mail updates
- Spell checking for posts
- Ability to search individual groups
- Preservation of formatting in posts
- Attachments in all forums
- Improved login/registration (existing logins will continue to work)
- Elimination of frames (allows direct linking to topics)
Here is a small screen capture of the new and improved web interface.
If you are using a newsreader to access you will need to reset the groups to get access.
In Outlook Express:
- Right-click on the discussion group
- Select Properties
- Then select the Local File tab
- Then select Reset
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, December 14, 2003
Great Source of AutoCAD Tutorials
Just browsing through my web browser favorite links on a Sunday and I found this gem of a resource.
http://www.tutorialfind.com/tutorials/default.asp?af=3&re=1&se=AutoCAD
There are many other application tutorials on this site as well. Some of the AutoCAD tutorials listed in the site are from http://www.autocadcentral.com/ which was a new find for me and looks like a really nice AutoCAD resource.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Sunday, December 14, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, December 12, 2003
Changes Coming to the Autodesk Public Discussion Groups
The best Autodesk product resource, the public discussion groups are getting a major makeover this weekend. There will be a weekend outage while this transition takes place. I know many active posters and lurkers will go through withdrawls while the groups are unavailable for 2 days but it will definitly be for the best. There will be a new look and new abilities to the groups and perhaps even a RSS feed of the discussion groups.
Post in the Autodesk Discussion Groups from Yesterday:
The Autodesk discussion groups will be unavailable Friday, December 12, 5 pm
PST to December 15, 5am PST in order to launch to our new infrastructure and
web experience.
The transition will be seamless. Newsreader (nntp) access will not change.
Web-based (http) experience will be radically improved to include:
- Watches: ability to monitor threads and receive e-mail updates
- Spell checking for posts
- Ability to search individual groups
- Preservation of formatting in posts
- Attachments in all forums
- Improved login/registration (existing logins will continue to work)
- Elimination of frames (allows direct linking to topics)
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Lee Ambrosius Created a No-Explode Routine Requested During AU 2003
AU 2003 Photo Link - Lee at AU 2003
During the Industry Session for General Design with the AutoCAD Team panel, a question was asked about the ability to filter out objects like Mtext, Blocks and Dimensions so they can't be exploded. Well Super AutoCAD user Lee Ambrosius just created a routine to do just that.
"No-Explode - Undefines the standard Explode command and redefines it with a filter to block the selection of certain object types like Blocks, Mtext and Dimensions. The filter can be changed very easily in the code."
http://www.hyperpics.com/
http://www.hyperpics.com/customization/autolisp/autolisp_downloads.htm
Thanks Lee!
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, December 11, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
Autodesk University 2003 Class Materials Are Being Posted
http://www.autodeskevents.com/au2003/session_handouts.cfm
A lot of hard work went into these class handouts. Make sure if you use the material in your company to give full credit to the author/instructors and AU. Seeing just the class materials is a far cry from the experience of actually being at AU and attending the live class.
Hopefully you can attend next year if you were not able to this year.
Update 12/16/03: You will need your login emailed to AU attendees to get the files now.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
Some nice AutoCAD Tutorials & Articles
Here are some nice AutoCAD related links I just ran across.
AutoCAD tutorials by Michael E. Beall of http://www.autocadtrainerguy.com/
http://www.cadtutor.net/michael/index.html
CAD Manager Survey, part 2
by CAD Manager Expert and all around nice guy Robert Green of Cadalyst Magazine
http://www.cadonline.com/solutions/mc/1203cm/
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, December 09, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
Autodesk Subscription Customers Get Support
Many subscription customers have been migrated to the new subscription content site and others will get this when they renew. One of the great benefits available on this new site is the option to submit support issues direct to Autodesk support. You get the initial response to your issue in under 4 hours but there may be a little longer wait for the final resolution depending on the specific issue submitted.
You can enter your problem details into an online form:
You can even check the current status of filed reports:
This is indeed a great benefit to the Autodesk subscription program. If you are not a subscription customer yet you might look into this at www.autodesk.com/subscription
Cheers,
-Shaan
FYI: I use SnagIt to create the screen shots.
Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
This blog Between the Lines
This Between the Lines web log (blog) is currently available to all who know the URL or select the link on their subscription main page. Currently without any real promotion I have a loyal few hundred following which is great. In the future this blog may be only available to those on subscription.
Please feel free to spread the word on this blog and its direct URL of:
http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/
If you have any feedback or topics you would like to see in here, please feel free to email me but to prevent the email drowning in my inbox please mention "blog feedback" in the email subsject line.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, November 05, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, October 31, 2003
The AutoCAD 2004 Tool Palette Extension & Palette Groups
You can now with the Tool Palette Extension create and manage and even switch palette groups easier than ever.
In the below image you see the Customize dialog you get after installing the extension then right-click on the Tool Palette and select "customize".
You can switch the current palette groups as simple as right-click menu on the Tool Palette as seen in the below image.
Below is a closer view of the Customize dialog where you can create, rename and export palettes and groups.
Are you aware you can even switch multiple Tool Palettes without the Tool Palette extension?
It is not as nice and easy as having the extension but here are the details:
Thanks to my fellow deskers Misha and Elango for this great explanation .
You can set the sysvar using setvar command or directly typing *_TOOLPALETTEPATH
in the command line. You must create your Tool Pallete files in separate directories for this method.
Programmatically, you can set the tool palette path in the following ways:
1. Using VBASTMT command and entering the following VBA statement:
AcadApplication.Preferences.Files.ToolPalettePath = "c:\temp\Palettes"
2. Using VBA macro:
Sub test()
Dim objPref As AcadPreferencesFiles
Set objPref = AcadApplication.Preferences.Files
objPref.ToolPalettePath = "c:\temp\palettes"
End Sub
2. Using Lisp as below:
(vl-load-com)
(vla-put-ToolPalettePath (vla-get-Files (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object))) "c:\temp\Palettes" )
Please note that switching may be slow because it saves the current
palette and reloads the new palettes.
The extension is definitly the way to go!
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, October 31, 2003 | Permalink
Friday, October 24, 2003
Great New DWF Article from Lynn Allen
Why You Need DWF
Click Here for this great article by fellow desker and friend Lynn Allen.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, October 24, 2003 | Permalink
Great New Article on the new Tool Palette Extension
AutoCAD: The Tool Palettes Extension - Extending the AutoCAD Interface
Nice tutorial on the new extension by well known AutoCAD author of the AutoCAD Bible Ellen Finkelstein and she is also a great cookie baker
Click Here
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Friday, October 24, 2003 | Permalink
Sunday, October 19, 2003
Shaan's Travel Tip
I was on the road last week in Seattle visiting customers and also attending some meetings at the Microsoft Redmond campus. I stumbled across a great travel tip after forgetting to pack my toothpaste in my bag. I found that you can easily brush your teeth with the breath mints named Altoids.
I am not kidding. Simply take two Altoids and chew them with some water in your mouth, then brush away the plaque and bad breath. Sounds odd but I am a resourceful person on the road and it really worked.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Sunday, October 19, 2003 | Permalink
Tuesday, September 30, 2003
Updated Express Tools
I have posted the updated files for the AutoCAD 2004 Express Tools ALIASEDIT & SYSVDLG to include the AutoCAD 2004 commands and system variables. Also posted is an AutoCAD 2004 verison of the Express Tool DBView.
Cheers,
-Shaan
PS:
I know there is some work going on with the frame of this blog for a few view related issues. If you cannot see the page the links go to for the short term, please right click on the links then select Open in New Window. Your browser should then open a new window with the URL linked page.
Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2003 | Permalink
Monday, September 29, 2003
List of System Variables and Commands for AutoCAD
I have been keeping track of all public system variables and commands for AutoCAD since R12.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, September 29, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
Free Data Recovery Software for Hard Drives and Digital Storage Media
The price is good. :-)
Free Data Recovery Software for Hard Drives and Digital Storage Media
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/030909/057304.html
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uk/download.htm
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, September 09, 2003 | Permalink
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
Great AutoCAD Web Resources
Here are some very helpful AutoCAD related sites:
http://jtbworld.com/?/autocad2004tips.htm
http://ellenfinkelstein.com/autoCAD.html
The AutoCAD online Knowledge Base can answer most technical issues.
http://support.autodesk.com
The Autodesk Discussion Groups full of very helpful fellow AutoCAD users.
Click Here
And of course my unofficial AutoCAD History Site:
Click Here
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Wednesday, September 03, 2003 | Permalink