Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Access Nested Objects in a Selection Set Using the Object Properties Manager in AutoCAD
Ryan Small has posted a nice tip article to his "The Autodesk Informer" blog. The tip is on how you can use the Object Propties Manager to access a list of nested objects in a selection set. A quick example would be to select a bunch of objects of various types in your drawing. With the items selected you can essentially sort and sub select based on entity type like all circles, lines or hatches. This is a quick way to change all circles in a selection set to a same diameter.
Link to the tip: Click Here
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, July 13, 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Monday, May 10, 2004
Quick Article on Design Document Communication with DWF
I just wanted to write a short article on using DWF and a workflow with markup. The DWF format is very small compared to PDF and other formats for transmitting to others. You can also use the free Autodesk DWF Writer 2 to publish from other applications such as Bentley MicroStation, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel or most any other application that can use a Windows System printer driver. You can publish in one click the entire Sheet Set in AutoCAD 2005 to DWF or a plotter. You can view DWF using the free Autodesk DWF Viewer or the $99 Autodesk DWF Composer as I show in this tutorial. The DWF is a open format and anyone can use the available DWF 6 Toolkit to write or view them.
In AutoCAD 2005 you can use the Sheet Set Manager to publish your entire Sheet Set in one click to a multi-sheet DWF.
You can use the free Autodesk DWF Writer 2 to publish a drawing sheet from Bentley MicroStation just as I did in the above image.
I simply dragged and dropped the DWF produced from the free Autodesk DWF Writer 2 into my multi-sheet DWF. I was also able to mark up (redline) the DWF in Autodesk DWF Composer which is only $99 or $49 to upgrade from the Volo View 2. You could also just view the resulting DWF files with the free Autodesk DWF Viewer but this does not have measure, mark-up and DWG viewing like Autodesk DWF Composer.
In this image you can see I can even mark-up the Bentley MicroStation produced DWF and even snap to the geometry for measurements or comments in the Autodesk DWF Composer.
Here you can see my mark up comments in a sheet in the multi-sheet DWF file on the sheet created from Bentley MicroStation. I can even indicate the markup status.
You can see the mark-up on an AutoCAD 2005 sheet in the DWF I can call out the question for another person. I can change the mark-up with snaps. After I make the mark up I can then send it back to the person with AutoCAD 2005 who created or who has the Sheet Set in AutoCAD 2005.
Using the Markup Set Manager in AutoCAD 2005, I can import the mark up and automatically navigate in the sheet set to the areas with the mark-up. I can also indicate the comments have been resolved and republish with the revisions.
I can even use the free Autodesk DWF Writer to publish Microsoft Word or Excel files to supplement the sheets or as a reference. I can even drag and drop raster images into the DWF such as a rendering or site photo. Best thing is that the documents when in the DWF format are not as easy to copy the data out to another document like a PDF and many do not want reviewers to get the data out. I can even have the reviewers indicate their mark-ups on the other documents in the DWF such as marking up the spreadsheet or the Bentley MicroStation sheet with my comment for the MicroStation user to “buy AutoCAD 2005" ;-) .
Helpful Links Relevant to this Tutorial
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 Monday, May 10, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (4) | 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
Monday, April 26, 2004
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
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
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Custom Background Mask command for Mtext by Lee Ambrosius of hyperpics.com
As a true AutoCAD master, Lee wrote and shared a quick LISP for the new AutoCAD 2005 feature Background Mask.
Link to Lee's article with a LISP file
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 | Permalink | 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
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
Autodesk Subscription e-Learning Tutorials Posted for AutoCAD 2005
For those on Autodesk Subscription, tutorials for AutoCAD 2005 are now available exclusively to subscription customers on the Subscription Center.
AutoCAD 2005 e-Learning Content Available now:
Working with Named Views and Viewports
Working with Model Space Views and Resource Drawings
Creating Sheet Sets
Managing Sheet Sets
Creating Tables
Creating Fields
Using Tool Palettes
Working with Layers
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, March 29, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
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
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
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
Thursday, February 05, 2004
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
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
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Two Linetypes and/or Colors For a Dimension Using a CTB Plot Style in AutoCAD
I get this question at least a dozen times a year. The question is if you can have two linetypes or colors for a dimension. The most common reason is the person wants a solid baseline and a dashed or dotted extension lines.
This has been possible since AutoCAD 2000 and the addition of plot styles.
Sample DWF file showing two different linetypes and colors for the dimension.
JPEG Image of the DWF
Overview: In your Drawing, edit the dimension style and change the dim line, ext line, and text colors. Then set a plot style to redefine the way the two colors plot and display in a layout.
Step 1
Open the DIMSTYLE Editor and on the Lines & Arrows tab set the color for the baseline and extension line to separate colors. I chose green and red to clearly see the difference.
While still in the DIMSTYLE Editor navigate to the Text tab and set the color for the text. This is optional if you want the text to match a particular lineweight or color of the baseline for example.
Save the new dimension style as CONT-DASH-1
Step 2
Now lets create a color based plot style. Use the command for the plot style wizard R14PENWIZARD or from the menu Tools>Wizard>Add Color-Dependant Plot Style Table and select the option to create a new one from scratch. Name this plot style "multi linestyle dims" then choose next.
Step 3
Now select the button option to edit the plot style table. In the Form view, change the plot attributes for the colors you set for the dimension baseline, extension lines and text.
I select the color red and then set it to plot as blue with a .2 solid line.
Now select the button option to edit the plot style table. In the Form view, change the plot attributes for the colors you set for the dimension baseline, extension lines and text.
I select the color green and then set it to plot as blue with a .1 Dash Dot line.
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Step 4
Now make sure in the pagesetup for a layout you have the display plot styles enabled.
Your done.
Now you have a dimension style you can use on other drawings and output to DWF or the plotter.
Have an AutoCAD tip you would like to share? Email me [email protected]
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, January 15, 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
Thursday, January 01, 2004
First Post of 2004 - Happy New Years Everyone!
Well the West Coast has now rang in the new year. I hope everyone has a safe new years day and a better year than the last. Also please note it will take me the next 9 months to stop writing 2003 in my email and documents...
And now some of my new years resolutions...
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, January 01, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (2)
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)
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)
Saturday, November 29, 2003
Plot Style Trick for Dimensions
I have had the same dimension request a few times and even needed something similar when I was designing before coming to Autodesk in 1998. People ask for a different extension linetype then the dimension baseline. Every since AutoCAD 2000 this has been possible. I have shown this to a few in the public Autodesk discussion groups as well as at user group meetings. The way I used to do this in R14 and prior was by making all of my dimensions using the hidden linetype then using a LISP routine to place a continuous line over the baseline all to create a dimension with two separate linetypes.
The first step is to be using color based plot styles CTB.
Now go into the Dimension style dialog and change the color of the baseline and extension lines to separate colors. I selected green for the baseline and blue for the extension.
click image to see larger size
Now onto creating a plot style to plot the drawings dimensions with different linetypes.
Create a plot style and in this example I am going to plot them all to monochrome black but you could plot them all to a standard plot color meeting your standards.
Now I set all colors to plot as black and linetype bylayer except for the extension line color of blue to plot using a dashed linetype. Make sure you are not using this color elsewhere otherwise you may get other layers plotted dashed.
click image to see larger size
Now your drawing will look like the following image:
click image to see larger size
Now on the Page setup for the Layout, set the option to display plot styles and you will see what it will plot like.
click image to see larger size
All done.
While I know some would prefer this to be in the dimension style itself I wanted to show this is currently possible if you use plot styles. Perhaps we can rewrite the dimension styles in the future to accommodate this request.
I cannot wait for Autodesk University in 3 days as I am getting sick and tired of Thanksgiving leftover turkey...
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Saturday, November 29, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0)
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
Monday, October 20, 2003
AutoCAD 2004 Tool Palette Extension
A few customers have emailed me about some confusion with hatches and this new Tool Palette extension.
If your AutoCAD system variable Pickstyle variable is set to 2 or 3, along with the associative hatch or gradient it selects its boundary. That multiple selection prevents dragging those objects into a tool palette because we do not allow dragging mutliple objects to a palette; only a single one. The solution is to set Pickstyle to 1 or 0, or use a non-assoctaive hatch or gradient.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Monday, October 20, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Merge Multiple DWF Files Into One
I hear the request to be able to merge multiple DWF files into one quite often. In the downloadable DWF Toolkit there is sample code to do this.
We have compiled this for those that would like to download and try it.
Click Here to download the 1Mb file
DWF “Merge Files” sample application is attached.
All you need to do is unzip this package and make sure all the files stay in the same directory.
To use MergeFiles, just drag-and-drop a bunch of DWF’s onto the application and publish. You’ll get all your files into a single DWF 6 file that you can then print in a batch using AEV.
This is not supported and at your own risk.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2003 | Permalink
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Nice Article on DWF by Lynn
My friend and fellow Autodesker Lynn Allen posted a great article on autodesk.com on "Why We Need DWF". You may find this article helpful.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Posted on Tuesday, September 23, 2003 | Permalink | Comments (0)