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Vectortuts+ has some brilliant CorelDRAW tutorials. The latest, by Dimas Angga Permana, has step by step instructions to produce the watch seen below.
How To Create a Steel Wristwatch in Corel Draw | Vectortuts+
PS: In response to a comment on the Vectortuts+ post this links to, some (like me) do use CorelDRAW!
A recent TypePad update included Category Feeds. It’s an item from my wish list that has been a long time coming. They were possible before but required template editing and avoiding that sort of hassle is the reason I use TypePad! Now it’s just a tick to enable them.
This blog has quite a wide range of topics. I use categories to group posts, mostly by application, and Category Feeds make them available as a content source. If you’re just interested in, say, Revit Architecture posts subscribe to that category. The feed will only contain content I tag Revit Architecture and nothing else.
This is similar to the, also recently introduced, Search Feeds but more focused as they will return any post with the keyword in it’s topic or body.
This shows how to access the feed for my “TypePad” category:
Feed Icon has the feed URL, hovering will display it in the status bar (browser dependent).
Go to Settings > Feeds and tick Posts by Category
I usually* don’t moderate comments but do review them and delete obvious spam. TypePad filters most of that (see below) before it reaches the blog but occasionally spam (seemingly human generated) gets through. They can seem valid, often reference the post they appear on, making it a marginal call. If your valid comment is removed by mistake let me know as I will be happy to repost it. Do that via the "Email me" link in the About section in the far right side bar.
* The main exception being when I'm travelling and not able to connect to review what is being posted.
At Jasmax, 2 Marston Street, Parnell on Wednesday 21st April 2010
5.30pm : Join us from 5.30pm for Drinks and Nibbles ($5 donation-receipts available)
6:00 : Welcome and Introduction to the Presentations by Kerry Thompson.
6:05 : Revit 2011 Architecture, Structure, MEP
- Open Forum - All 2011 experience and contributions by users very welcome.
7.00 : Wrap up : Tips, Tricks & Open Forum
Please RSVP attendance via the RUGAKL Website email link by 5pm on Tuesday 20th April for catering purposes. A Meeting Register is taken for NZIA CPD Points.
I’m a bit slow posting this (thus the Easter ref in the linked post) but after seeing the first paragraph (not the extract below) I must!*
AutoCAD 2011 - William Le Couteur's AutoCAD Blog
I'll just outline my experiences with it and hope that someone gets around a few of the things that I found as I proceeded to waste my Easter weekend drawing a set of instructions for a do-it-yourself cabinet assembly….
Bill does solid modelling for plant/mechanical work but spends his weekend modelling all kinds of things from architecture to flying boats!
* Must also show Bill where to find the permalinks on my site!
I suspect you can guess how I responded… Is there a Use1995UI=0 variable in AutoCAD?
By the way, from what I’ve seen Inventor 2011 is still the leading Autodesk design UI
LT Unlimited: A few requests for assistance
The AutoCAD Research team needs your help! They want your opinion on menus and toolbars – apparently “the destiny of toolbars is in your hands!”
Who Should Participate? Any AutoCAD user
How To Participate? Please submit your opinion via the Toolbars and Menus Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Toolbars
Kate has blogged about a new AutoCAD feature that I’ve been waiting to see for years:
LT Unlimited: Ignore Missing SHX Files
How many times have you tried to open a drawing, only to be stopped short by a missing dialog…
Most of the SHX infected files we have were not created by Autodesk products. Often survey data will have embedded SHX in points or linetypes that are nearly impossible to eradicate. The universal answer was “get the SHX” but often it’s not available, especially old projects.
Even worse, if you did have the file it didn’t really help with AutoCAD Architecture (ACA) projects. If you placed the SHX file in the same folder as the dwg it would open fine. That meant your ACA Survey Construct, for example, opens fine. The problem was if ACA project Views & Sheets referenced that construct they didn’t find the SHX and still threw the “Missing…”error. You could work around this by adding explicit search paths, project paths, to the AutoCAD options but with with lots of projects and multiple machines it isn’t practical.
For me that’s why this dialog alone makes the move from 2010, or older, to 2011worth the effort. It will save a lot of clicks.
Maybe living a long haul flight from just about everywhere results in an lifelong interest in aircraft design? Whatever the motivation, it’s worth clicking through to this post from Boeing to see the 787 Dreamliner wing/fuselage load test video. Just amazing technology and it can fly!
Boeing Confirms Success on Ultimate Load Test [Click for Video] | 787 Dreamliner Flight Test
April 7, 2010 - The wings were flexed upward by approximately 25 feet (7.6 meters) during the test and the fuselage was pressurized to 150 percent of its maximum normal operating condition.
I guess if it’s on Twitter…! Below is our, rather lovely, view of the Auckland CBD from work. Next week I have the opportunity to go there and hear about the Autodesk 2011 releases.
It couldn’t be much closer, for me, but if there isn’t an Autodesk 2011 event near you try this virtual one. There are sessions for an array of Autodesk Platforms (AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor & Entertainment) and AEC, Engineering and Entertainment client sessions in a virtually packed day:
Join Me for the Autodesk Seize the Opportunity Virtual Event! - Lynn Allen's Blog
Join me [Lynn Allen] for an AutoCAD 2011 Tips and Techniques presentation at this Autodesk Virtual event on April 19 [US time]. Here you will get to hear from Heidi Hewett as she covers all things 3D in AutoCAD 2011 and Kate Morrical as she discusses the new features in AutoCAD LT.
As for me - I'll be covering all the cool new features in AutoCAD 2011 (I can't wait!). I will be visiting fewer towns in person this year so please sign up to join me "virtually". Besides - you don't have to pay for gas, or parking (or talk to people you don't know) to participate in this event! Of course I'll miss seeing your smiling faces in person.
Download the full agenda here
5.30pm, Wednesday 7th April 2010 @ Square edge fx2 theatre, Ground Floor to the rear of Square Edge Gallery, The Square, Palmerston North
Thanks to Kiwicodes you could WIN a one year subscription for a single license of NZS3604 Calculator, Bracing calculator and element renumber worth over $600 as the door prize on the night! Be sure to bring a business card with you to be in the draw.
Format for the evening will be;
5:30pm - Drinks, nibbles and chit chat session.
6:00pm - Welcome and introductions
PRESENTATIONS:
6:10pm A look into Revit Structure & MEP: Take a brief look into both these versions with Chris Croton.
6:20pm - Working with Design options: Discussion on how to use design options by Scott Sellars.
6:30pm – Main Feature - Kiwicodes presentation on ‘NZS 3604 Calculator’ and ‘Bracing Calculator’.
7:00pm - Q&A session on the nights topics
7:10pm - Website of the month
7:20pm - Discussion on next months topics
7:30pm - Prize Draw & Close of meeting10 NZIA CPD points available for Registered Architect's.
Please bring your $2 donation as a contribution towards refreshments on the night.
Ok, that post did go live on April 1 and I admit thought there might have been more reaction to RobiNZ Revit Blog. It wasn’t really an April Fool as it wasn’t all false. I do now own AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite but firmly subscribe to picking the best Computer Aided DESIGN tool that gets the job done.
I can’t imagine not having access to the AutoCAD (actually AutoCAD Architecture) box of tricks but likewise wouldn’t want to be without Revit. However with both (and 3ds Max Design) life is Suite, I mean sweet!*
So the blog name has reverted to CAD and the theme to New Zealand’s unofficial national colours** because, lets face it, all that purple had to go. Alfie, my Mums puppy features on the new banner, isn’t an old dog like me and is slowly learning new tricks***.
* Except I also look enviously at Inventor for things like cabinets, shop fittings etc. Maybe they should do an Autodesk Design Suite (Revit, Inventor, AutoCAD, Max, Alias) except imagine the price!
** If black & silver can be considered colours.
*** Like where & when to pee!
Revit 2011 brings a mixture of platform and, yes again, User Interface changes. Some are small while others bring major, and welcome, changes to modelling and workflow when sharing files. I'll deal with the UI first as it think its the first change users will notice when switching to 2011.
The ribbon is still there but has had a major overhaul. In response to “user feedback”, to be polite, the layout has been revised. Once editing objects you’ll find Select, Properties, Clipboard, Geometry and Modify commands have a static location at the head of the ribbon. Other panels are appended and tools are greyed out depending on function. Some of the graphics have been revised, buttons made larger to reduce potential miss-clicks.
The QAT can be edited & re-ordered. This is standard in most other Ribbon implementations so its good to see it arrive in Revit. There is also now only one QAT with any customisation in the main project UI being seen in the family and conceptual editor modes.
Coming from AutoCAD Architecture (ACA) one aspect of Revit I found frustrating was access to object properties. ACA has long had a Properties Palette (below left).used when creating and editing object properties. As Revit is a system that creates, lives, is all about, objects it was weird to have to constantly open & close a dialog to change their properties. 2011 fixes that with the biggest change to the UI since the Ribbon: A Properties Palette!
Access the Properties Palette with:
You can dock or float it to park on a second monitor and it remembers the last position, even between sessions! The Revit Palette offers the same controls as the old instance properties dialog, and more, but it’s always available:
If multiple objects are selected you can filter the selection to apply changes to only objects of the selected type (i.e. Two walls in the image below). Note: This doesn't replace the filter command as other objects remain selected, ready for subsequent property edits. Below I could change to the two railing selection and then edit their properties.
I'd love to see Family Editor Types treated as a palette but it’s still an open/close dialog as with previous releases.
Its nice to see this to combat the dreaded "Select All, what do you mean that is all everywhere?” accidental deletions. Selecting windows Visible in View in Level 1(below left) leaves the same object on other project levels untouched.
Two new editing view styles arrive in 2011. Consistent colours is effectively Shaded with edges without the directional lighting. Realistic shows, no surprise, the applied materials including textures without requiring a render.
In addition to the previous City List 2011 adds web map based selection. Enter an Address and search or drag the location pin to your site on a Google Map view (complete with Street & Satellite views).
A location related change is this new interactive sun path. Drag the sun to see a live preview of sun/shadow impacts in the view. Weather data is claimed to be available worldwide at 12- kilometre intervals, apart from United States 2004 data which uses 20 kilometre intervals, but I haven’t verified the NZ data yet.
In common with other 2011 releases Revit uses HTML browser based help. This feels a bit slower but does make it much easier to reference the official help from support/training documents, intranet etc
That’s a few of the platform user interface changes. Look for more on new modelling, workflow and cross discipline process changes in future posts as there is plenty to blog about!
A new TypePad feature has prompted me to update the search panels which live in the right hand column of my blog.
Occasionally I change the banner on this blog. Usually it’s just an excuse to show some photography but this month is different. The banner is completely new, the photo carefully chosen to mark the end of a long an winding road.
It’s been, but doesn’t seem, a long time since April 2001 when I first met Phil Read in NZ and he showed me some remarkable software. Seeing the registration dialog below, for the first time on my own PC rather than a work one, means it’s time to acknowledge the change. Although I’m not an Architect I’m now a Revit owner and thus the blog overhaul.
The URL & Feed will remain unchanged, so RSS etc still work, and there are still a few widgets to sort out that I couldn’t do until new template was on-line, but it’s mostly there. I briefly considered calling it RobiNZ CAD Blog 2011 but that seemed a little predictable…
It’s State Highway 2, over the Rimutaka Range, north of Wellington and is as much fun as it looks. All you need is a clear day, light traffic and good brakes! There is no need to speed, just don’t slow down!
I’ve been over in both my Fiats. It was much easier in the Bravo but you’d be surprised how well a little 1.0 Litre Uno 45 can climb when it’s on the redline, all the way…
Change is Good
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