RobiNZ CAD Blog

AutoCAD 2013, nearly…

For AutoCAD users it’s nearly 2013. I’m quite pleased to see the r13 legacy or the silliness that is tridecaphobia didn’t have Autodesk change naming from 2012 to something daft like X3.

You can preview some of the new features on Lynn Allen’s blog:

AutoCAD 2013 is approaching the Finish Line - Lynn Allen's Blog

It's always so exciting when the next release of AutoCAD arrives - I feel like a kid at Christmas as I unwrap all the new shiny features.  I thought I'd share a general overview of some of the new features you'll be seeing in AutoCAD 2013…

I can’t add much until the real release date as have only spent beta time with a AutoCAD 2013 vertical still deep in NDA. I suppose I can say it inherits appropriate AutoCAD platform improvements but also adds one of which has been on my wish list for… oh my Flying Spaghetti Monster!… more than a decade!

PS: That isn’t an official logo up there just a few Snagit stamps.

PPS: A few keystrokes in ActiveWords means I’ll never ever have to tap [Shift] A u t o [Shift] C A D [space] 2 0 1 3 (in full) ever again. acad13 will do all that . You can use ActiveWords for free (limited to 30 ActiveWords) or try the full ActiveWords Plus 60 day trial.

Solving the Snagit blackout and non-ActiveWords?

Something changed on my machine recently and impacted two of my favourite utilities.

Screen capture blues from the black, and non-ActiveWords

I went to take a screenshot and the capture looked like a photo taken in a coal mine with the lights out. You could see all the Snagit capture UI working perfectly (something like the faked image right) but the screen and resulting capture were solid black.

The Clues:

A quick trip to Techsmith support was in order but my ActiveWord “snagn”, which should launch the Snagit website, didn’t work. If the browser wasn’t running it launched and opened the site as expected but entering the ActiveWord in an existing browser had no effect. Then I found other ActiveWords didn’t work in the browser either. Strange?

I found this post regarding black/white/incomplete captures at Techsmith and it mentioned some security software blocking screen captures, including ZoneAlarm (which I use).

It recommended adding Snagit to the safe list which is found under Program Control>Programs in ZoneAlarm. However when I checked both Snagit and Snagit Editor were already listed and trusted to interact with other applications.

A trip to the ZoneAlarm forum revealed another clue from “ab-onguard”;

I am able to use SnagIt 9.1.3 by changing my Zonealarm Extreme Security suite 9.1.008's Forcefield's browser security settings/Advanced/Uncheck "block programs that secretly record your keystrokes". Without doing the above, SnagIt would not capture any "profile" settings. I have not had any SnagIt issues since !

The fixes;

Configure ZoneAlarm and fix ActiveWords:

I configured ZoneAlarm as suggested by disabling the “Anti-keylogger” section in the Browser Security (below). That restored ActiveWords functionality, which I guess does look like a key logger to AV software, but didn’t help Snagit even after a reboot.

Repair install Snagit and reboot;

I did a repair install of Snagit then restarted the machine and (as you can see from the screenshots in this post) all was good.

This also added a slew of other Techsmith related components to the ZoneAlarm trust settings and I wonder if that was a factor?

I can only presume some sort of ZoneAlarm update upset things but it was good to get these two applications back to normal!

ActiveWords, Camtasia Studio and Windows 7

I recently got a new PC and this video from Buzz (not the Google one) shows why ActiveWords was my first install after Windows 7 was running. He made the demo with Camtasia Studio (another favourite app of mine).

To give an idea how ActiveWords changes your computing (and why I can’t stand using a PC without it) the title for this post was created by entering “awf, camf and w7f”, letting ActiveWords do the rest. In a bit over a month it has saved close to an hour of typing and that’s just on my home PC.

Caught out by a real inkPad

ActiveWords runs fine on Windows 7 64 but I inadvertently installed it’s inkpad component. The ActiveWords inkpad enables everything you see Buzz do in the demo to be done with a pen. Scribble CNN and the browser will open, then navigate to their site. Try that on your iPad…

It wouldn’t be a problem on a Tablet PC but my old Dell monitor doesn’t support direct input! The inkpad agent was easily disabled until my new touch enabled widescreen monitor arrives (yeah right!)

1. Exit ActiveWords (Inkpad will also close).
2. Open AgentManager (C:\Program Files\ActiveWords\AgentManager.exe).
3. Move "AWInkPad" to the "Unregistered" column
4. Re-start ActiveWords

Download ActiveWords, there is a 60 day risk free trial.

iThink it’s nearly my time for the Phone with an i

It’s not that I don’t like Apple, just their “our way or no way” attitude and the fanatic devotees annoy (but not Phil, Matt, Adam, Terrance and other iFanatics I know!). I’m not really into cults, except one, but will change my mind if the evidence stacks up. Today a few things happened that might, just might, be enough to make me consider actually getting an iPhone.

Yes Kiwifrenzy, I know that even means tolerating iTunes which I’ve happily avoided, hard since Apple try & sneak it in with (also avoided because it’s rubbish) QuickTime downloads. If you’d asked me when I woke up this morning “Do you want an iPhone?” the answer would have been “No!” but 12 hours later I’m close to the iTipping Point!

Maybe because I Sketch?

Well, cool as it is Autodesk Sketchbook Mobile wouldn’t have me rushing out to buy an iPhone. I saw it in action on a colleagues phone today and was impressed but I wonder if I’d really use it that often? The application is astoundingly good value but not having an iPhone makes the price of admission high. Tilting, but not tipping…

Perhaps, because I Map?

Given I map just about everything that’s important and a lot that isn’t this one is a no-brainer. It’s Mindjet for iPhone which pushed me close to the tipping point.

Mindjet for iPhone from Mindjet on Vimeo.

But there is something missing!

As I watch various iPhone demos it’s apparent there is a problem. Many of my potential uses require typing, entering URLs, navigating the net and the like. While it has a wonderful touch UX and (not so sure it’s wonderful) virtual keyboard there is a glaring omission.. To do that stuff iActiveWords but the iPhone doesn’t. What about it Buzz? ActiveWords for iPhone would have at least one customer!

So, am I converted? Is there an iGod?

My atheism extends to the world of IT which is why I like this Geek & Poke Strip which also appeared today! Divine intervention or coincidence? You can probably guess what iThink!

  See the rest

Buzz, about ActiveWords, on YouTube

Buzz Bruggeman's video not only shows ActiveWords in action but confirms that it works with Windows 7. I tried ActiveWords on the Windows 7 64 beta and was happy to find it worked as I couldn't use a PC without it. ActiveWords already supports key or pen (Tablet PC) input; I wonder if touch is on the radar?

ActiveWord for Wolfram|Alpha

This ActiveWord will query the new Wolfram|Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine. Execute the ActiveWord and this dialog appears, enter the search term, ActiveWords will launch your browser with the query entered in Wolfram|Alpha. It's early days for my use but so far just the city & date searches have been very useful.

Create a "Navigate ActiveWord" with this URL in the action field:

"http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=<INPUTBOX:"Ask Wolfram|Alpha:":Ask Wolfram|Alpha>"

UPDATE 2009-05-22: I've added the missing "|" to Wolfram|Alpha in the code but not updated the images

Tags: Wolfram|Alpha

A Date with ISO 8601, and ActiveWords

Until I read Phil's post I didn't realise the eminently sensible Year, Month, Day (YYYY-MM-DD) format had official status.  

Hot Dating Tips for Marketers | Phil Couling
Why aren’t more marketers using ISO 8601, the international standard for date and time formats?
Everyone with a marketing role has a need to eliminate ambiguity from their communication, and this is such a simple thing to fix that I am always surprised to see highly localized and ambiguous formats for dates used in materials being designed for international and multi-cultural audiences...

I use it, and suspect most do, for file naming because computers will sort it sensibly and it's "embedded" in the name so won't change, like properties can, if a file is copied. In fact "date" is one of my most used ActiveWords as it enters the current date, in my preferred format, wherever I happen to need it.

ISO 8601 format ActiveWords dates

If you have the inplace functions loaded* ActiveWords will enter current dates & times, and more, with a few keystrokes. Some applications will do this but ActiveWords does it anywhere you can type: File/Folder naming, text editors, web forms, even a command line.

To get the ISO 8601 date format in ActiveWords set the InPlace - Set Date Format ActiveWord to %Y-%m-%d. Then just type date, hit the ActiveWords key and the current date is entered: 2009-03-02. If "date" is too much typing just edit the InPlace - Date Stamp ActiveWord to whatever you want: even "d"!

 

AM/PM, why bother?

While doing that also set the time to, so sensible why isn't it the only one used, 24 hour time format. It beats me why people still bother with 12 hours times and AM/PM when there is no need for such silliness. In ActiveWords set the InPlace - Set Time Format to %H:%M:$S. Type time, then hit the ActiveWords key to get the current time: 23:18:19. The ActiveWord date time returns 2009-03-02 @ 23:18:48 showing it took 29 seconds to think and type this last bit

What time is it? Local time!

One other bit of time date related sense caught my eye this week. Mindjet sent out a web meeting advisory and had the grace to include a variety of local times & dates in addition to the actual US PST time.

Saved me using tzn, my ActiveWord which navigates to a time zone converter site, which is often needed when you live in the future.

A daytime meeting in the US or U.K. usually means a late night or early morning, the next day, for me so it's useful to get the time right!

If you're arranging international meetings it's nice to include a few other regions in your advisory if your meeting system doesn't do it automatically.

* If not already installed ActiveWords Plus or Enterprise users can download Inplace functions free from: http://www.activewords.com/applications.html (look for ActiveWords Agents INPLACE)

** Observant readers may have noticed TypePad doesn't quite support the ISO date format. The default preferences have the YMD OK but only offer "." as a delimiter.

ActiveWords for Twitter Search

Since I'm new to Twitter I just made an ActiveWord for http://search.twitter.com/. Now I type, or ink, "tws" then initiate ActiveWords. A dialog appears (below), enter the search term and my browser launches (if not running) with the results. Simple. Because ActiveWords works everywhere it's not application specific like a browser add-in.

To it set up get ActiveWords (free trial), create a new Scripting ActiveWord, assign whatever ActiveWord code you'd like (mine is tws), then copy/paste this string into the action box:

<"http://search.twitter.com/search?q=<INPUTBOX:Search Twitter>">

Buzz Bruggeman shares how he transcends time

Given this is, occasionally, a CAD blog I suspect you use design software. But in addition to that do you use Outlook, do you send email, do you have contacts and business relationships to mange, or quick presentations to give? Would you like to learn how to do this better, from an expert?

I first “encountered” Buzz Bruggeman when he sent me an email suggesting I try ActiveWords. That happened within minutes of me commenting on a post about Microsoft Search on a, sadly now extinct, MindManager related blog . It was the first I'd heard of ActiveWords and after a week or so of using the free trial I'd purchased it.

But this isn't about ActiveWords, it's how a CEO of a company created a connection with someone who'd never heard of his product within minutes. You might think that’s rather special, and it is, but Buzz has “about 13,000” contacts in his Outlook and somehow manages to engage them all.

"Living in Outlook is not where I had planned to spend my life, but having resolved to build the best relationships for ActiveWords that I can, I have resolved to master Outlook"

This self described “Geek wanna be, ActiveWords evangelist, and small town Minnesota boy” shares some of his techniques, and tools, in a conversation with Robert Scoble. Rather than a single solution you see how a combination approaches can literally create free time by saving you the drudgery of performing repetitive tasks. Put aside some time to watch it, you'll get it back later!

Managing Your Mind With the CEO of ActiveWords | FastCompany.TV
Buzz Bruggeman is one of the world’s best networkers that I’ve ever met and also runs ActiveWords, which is a cool utility that helps you get more things done through programming your keystrokes, but that isn’t what excited me about Buzz. He’s one of the world’s top users of Mind Mapping Software and we’ll talk about that, and other things that have his attention.

ActiveWords update v1.95

ActiveWords have released an update (Version 1.95) which adds Windows Language features. It also adopts the standard Windows protocol for user settings (...Documents and Settings\LOGON\Application Data\ActiveWords) which means they are captured if you backup/move your profile.

The install was painless and manages the migration of your existing wordbase to the new folder. I've found a few other refinements, like date incremented naming for manual wordbase backups, and had no problems since upgrading a couple of weeks ago.

What's new in ActiveWords Version 1.95?

• You can now create text substitutions in any Windows Language and have ActiveWords that are in any Windows Language.
• The ActiveWords Monitor is now designed to handle all Windows Language Settings, accurately passing through all characters to the underlying context regardless of the active character set.

This is a free update for all licensed ActiveWords users. A free 60 day trial is available for previous and new trial users.

Get it from www.activewords.com