RobiNZ CAD Blog

No, they didn’t forget the Text Window scroll bar in AutoCAD 2012

I don’t often use the AutoCAD Text Window but hit F2 and mouse wheeled up & down before remembering…

I blame swapping between lots of app’s and not an addled mind!

GIF captured & produced with Camtasia Studio

AutoCAD Architecture Nested Views

While you can create multiple nested views in an AutoCAD Architecture View drawing the automatic labels won’t initially show the correct values.

Below you can see a partial location plan with the Stockroom Plan inside it. Both tags will initially show the same values (for the larger view). Just select the tag & drag/drop onto the correct view in Project Navigator.

They will update to show the appropriate values, and will maintain them when the views are dropped on a sheet.

Revit User Group Wellington - August Meeting Announcement

Wed 24 Aug 2011
@ Productspec HQ, 14 Holland Street
5.30 - 7.30pm

We've lined up a great session for tomorrow evening - thanks to Greg and Kevin for their contribution.

Ducts, by Kevin Thickett
Kevin is going to show us the magical world of MEP Duct Families and give us some of his top tips for modelling them.
Colour Schemes, by Greg Burr
The 'often forgotten' Colour Schemes are a great way to show finishes and many other things.  Greg will show us some of his techniques for using these.
'New' Massing Tools, by Matt Pettengell
Matt will explain Massing Tools step by step from in-place masses right through to adaptive components.

See you on Wednesday, 5.30pm, Productspec HQ. 15 NZIA CPD points are available.

This event is proudly sponsored by Aluminium Systems Ltd. (ASL) - their new Window and Door Revit Content is now available from Productspec.

Add HP to my PC maker kill list?

I must apologise for initiating HP’s proposed exit from the consumer PC hardware business. You see there is this thing about my selection of hardware and the subsequent future of the manufacturer:

From 5 [CAD] Things You Didn't Know About Me (posted 2007)

5.) If I purchase a PC from a company they cease trading in New Zealand. Strange thing is all these machines have been faultless and are still operational. I do suggest if you work for a PC company and you like your job it’s not a good idea to sell me a machine!

• CADS – Closed down, admittedly a few years after I got my 486.
• PC Direct – At the time a market leading local assembler. Not long after I got one of their machines they sold out to Gateway.
• Gateway – Soon after I buy one of their machines they quit our market, no longer in NZ.
• The PC Company – Again, once a leading local assembler. I was lucky as think my machine was one of the last out the door before they crashed

Then a couple of weeks back posted this tweet:

It seems fellow CAD Blogger Brian Benton has a similar talent:

This is being written on a two year old PB Tech PC. They seem to be trading well whenever I visit and I hope that continues!

The curse of the mutant AutoCAD XCLIP, solved

It began with an old drawing that looked like this. In the middle of that birds nest is an electrical layout with lighting blocks (AutoCAD predating our use of AMEP) and circuits.

The mess is the result of some blocks showing a massive, larger than building extents, outline. In the middle under that centre grip are the original lighting block graphics.

The outline is actually a fully functional XCLIP frame which somehow is associated with the block insertion. Explode the block & it disappears, redefine the block and it survives but is not replicated on any new insertions!

I tried redefining blocks by importing, even exploding and remaking the block in the file but a solution eluded me. Thanks to Rodney at Autodesk AU/NZ Support for discovering that it was actually rather simple to fix:

• Run XCLIP
• Select all the mutant “XCLIP” frames
• Delete.

This removes the frames leaving the original blocks intact.

I’m not sure if 2012 changed how the block was interpreted or, more likely, its default settings exposed an entity which had been lurking all the time. Whatever, it’s nice to have a clean file again.

Blogging Building Windows 8

Steven Sinofsky (President, Microsoft Windows and Windows Live Division) recently launched a blog that will follow the development of Windows 7+1:

Welcome to Building Windows 8 - http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/

We've been hard at work designing and building Windows 8, and today we want to begin an open dialog with those of you who will be trying out the pre-release version over the coming months. We intend to post regularly throughout the development of Windows 8, and to focus on the engineering of the product. Welcome to “Building Windows 8,” or as we call it, “B8.”

The blog is written by the team & seeks input from Windows users:

About this blog...

“This blog is 100% authentic “engineer written” and not a marketing or communications effort. We do not have ghost-writers, editors, or any process that attempts to sanitize the words of folks on the team other than some basic copy editing.”

“Everyone on the Windows team will be watching for comments and is looking forward to the dialog. When participating, we will work to make sure Microsoft employees represent themselves as such, especially indicating if they work on the area Windows being discussed. We ask that press (those that write, blog, tweet professionally) identify themselves accordingly as well.”

“Things we hope to see in comments:

• Lots of on-topic, good, interesting thoughts on Windows and the posts on B8
• Focus on the content of the post and not just the topic in general—seek out the details
• Dialog that is respectful and fun”

AutoCAD 8.16 — AutoCAD 2012, 2012 LT and WS for Mac

Design 8.16, the day AutoCAD for Mac expanded from a product to a product portfolio.

AutoCAD for Mac 2012 has been joined by AutoCAD LT 2012 for Mac and a dedicated AutoCAD WS for Mac desktop application. Although it is all about the Mac platform the arrival of Network License support has some interesting possibilities for mixed platform environments. But first what is new about AutoCAD for Mac?

AutoCAD 2012 for Mac

AutoCAD for Mac gets an update built specifically for OS X Lion (supports Snow Leopard) and matching many of the features seen in the recent 2012 Windows application. Those include:

• Moveable UCS icon
• Auto-complete commands (for dynamic input & command line)
• Multi-function grips
• Associative array
• AutoCAD WS integration (upload, manage & edit)

Some AutoCAD functionality omitted from AutoCAD 2011 for Mac has been added:

• Edit in place (External Reference & Blocks)
• Plot style creation & edit support (2011 could only use existing)
• Layer manager: Dynamic & Manual Filter Groups

Unique to Mac OS features like Spotlight Search, Cover Flow and Menu/Live Tool Palettes interface make this native Mac application fit Mac user expectations.

AutoCAD for Mac & Windows – Sharing files and Network licenses

AutoCAD Windows, Mac & WS use the same dwg file format making life simple multi-platform offices. If you use network licensing AutoCAD for Mac 2012 now supports the same FLEXlm system as Windows. You can download, install & run AutoCAD for Mac accessing your existing license server but, of course, it will consume an AutoCAD network license when active!

What is missing?

Unsurprisingly, technologies specific to Windows such as Visual Basic for Applications, OLE objects, and Windows Media® Audio and DCL (dialog control language) are not supported. Sadly, surprisingly, there is still no support for AutoCAD Sheetset Manager. If you use this in the Windows version (and you should) its a significant omission.

AutoCAD 2012 LT for Mac hits the (US/Canada) App store

AutoCAD LT for Mac is, like its Windows cousin, AutoCAD with no support for LISP or 3D modelling or rendering. It concentrates on the 2D functionality required for drafting & documentation. Like the full version AutoCAD LT for Mac is a native OS X application & shares many of the same features.

AutoCAD LT for Mac will only be sold in the Mac App Store (from August 19th US PT) making purchase and delivery an all digital transaction. The initial release is limited to the US/Canadian App Store and does not offer subscription. Support will be offered via a direct Autodesk web support channel.

AutoCAD WS for Mac

Although AutoCAD WS will run in the Safari, or any other, Browser there is now a dedicated free native OSX application.

It offers the same capability as the browser version, integrates with your existing AutoCAD WS account and adds native Mac features like Multi-touch.

Get it from www.autocadws.com or the Mac App Store (from the 19th US PT)

AutoCAD Design 8.16?

Something “BIG” & “AutoCAD” will be announced on the 16th of August, 10 a.m. US Pacific Time.*

In the US that is 8.16 which fits rather nicely into DESIGN (or DE8.16N). Who thought of that!?

However in New Zealand it doesn’t quite work as it will already be 8.17, or in our notation 17.8, and happening at 5 a.m! I’m not sure if that means we find out later, earlier or at precisely the same time?

As Douglas Adams said: “Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.”. For this I’d add “5am is a mythical time that surely doesn’t actually exist”.

**

Check out, the announcement & AutoCAD Design 8.16 Page on www.facebook.com/AutoCAD and follow the #design816 tag on Twitter, and video below for all the buzz.

* I have no idea what “BIG” & “AutoCAD” will be announced but my Twitter speculation that the true meaning of LT, as in AutoCAD LT, will be revealed or it’s a radical new Menu/Toolbar User Interface have yet to be refuted…

** Amazing how 2 minutes with SnagIt can enhance an already brilliant graphic

Capture & report FlexNet/FLEXlm license use - JTB FlexReport LT (freeware)

Jimmy Bergmark has released a snazzy freeware report generator for capturing FlexNet/FLEXlm license use. Run the app, click once to search for license servers and again to get a nicely formatted HTML report of current servers, license and user allocation. You can save the server search results making future reports just a click away.

                  Download from www.jtbworld.com JTB FlexReport LT

FlexReport LT is a derivative of his, widely used, JTB FlexReport tool:

“JTB FlexReport is a reports applications using the FlexNet / FLEXlm (flexlm license manager), IBM LUM (IBM License Use Management), SPLM (Intergraph SmartPlant License Manager), SLM/Sentinel LM/Sentinel RMS, LM-X, Solidworks SNL License Manager, Licman, Primavera from Oracle or 12D software licensing”

Unlike the snapshot seen in LT the full version has full logging and analysis of use over months, weeks & hours of the day. Given the cost of the applications accurate use reporting could mean a small investment in JTB FlexReport results in considerable savings through optimum license investment. It also makes capturing & presenting license use for capex justification or project/department/office billing a simple task.

www.jtbworld.com JTB FlexReport - Get a time limited trial license file for free. You can try it in your environment with your real data for a few weeks with full functionality. Full support is provided during trial period.

PS: I first got to know Jimmy virtually through the AutoCAD My Feedback forums & his blog. Although we live about as far apart as it is possible to get without leaving the planet (Sweden & New Zealand) it was great to meet him “for real” at Autodesk University 2005 in Orlando.

Maybe, no, Dassault…

I’m happy to give you an email address to watch your:

“series of screencasts to give you the information you need to decide if SolidWorks® is the right solution for you.”

But the next form requires too much info when it’s just to view your advertisement: